III. The positioning of mediation in the development of the "one-stop" dispute resolution platform

The development of the "one-stop" international commercial dispute resolution platform is the focus of the Supreme People's Court in constructing CICC mechanisms, and is also an important measure to implement the concept of "prioritizing the non-litigation dispute resolution" put forward by President Xi Jinping. Based on the development of relevant systems at the current stage, there are two difficulties in the positioning of mediation in the one-stop dispute resolution.

First, it is difficult to set commercial mediation apart from the mediation practice in litigation. Commercial mediation is carried out by professional institutions and professional mediators, which is different from that carried out by courts in the litigation process, a long-term practice in China. Therefore, distinguishing mediation in the litigation procedure from specialized mediation is a difficult issue in the construction of the international commercial court.

Second, it is difficult to properly position the combined use of mediation and arbitration. Although the combined use of arbitration and mediation has become a common practice in the settlement of commercial disputes at home and abroad, many problems have also been exposed in practice. In particular, the parties are worried that the compromises they have made in mediation may become known by the arbitrator and thus be used as a basis for the arbitral award, which will greatly compromise the interests of the parties. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the solution to such problems in the construction of the "one-stop" platform.

To solve the above problems, the author proposes that the development of a "one-stop" platform should be promoted centering around the needs of the parties, giving priority to party autonomy. Whether it is the docking of litigation and arbitration, that of litigation and mediation, or that of arbitration and mediation, the core lies in that the parties choose dispute solutions based on their autonomy. Therefore, respecting party autonomy should be the foundation. Secondly, since China has not yet formed a complete system of commercial mediation rules and institutions, it is necessary to focus on the establishment of rules and mechanisms in the development of the "one-stop" mediation mechanism. It is necessary to formulate relevant rules for the participation of International Commercial Experts in mediation as soon as possible, clarify their institutional roles and specific functions, and establish a relatively comprehensive system of rules and regulations in various aspects such as the appointment of mediators, the promotion of mediation procedures, and the remuneration of mediators. At the same time, it is necessary to form a normalized platform based on the "one-stop" platform and existing domestic commercial mediation institutions, and to rely on the Internet to establish a corresponding case distribution system to promote the efficient resolution of related disputes.

IV. Measures to improve China's International Commercial Mediation system and mechanism against the background of the Singapore Convention

As mentioned above, China's commercial mediation system is still at an early stage of development and falls short of a unified and practical system nationwide. Therefore, as the Singapore Convention has come into effect, China can focus on exploring a commercial mediation system that is compatible with both national conditions and international trends.

First, the People's Courts should continue to play an active role in the early application of the Singapore Convention. In order to gain wider support for the Singapore Convention, the Second Working Group of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law has taken a neutral approach, deliberately making certain provisions of the Singapore Convention relatively ambiguous. Therefore, the vital task of interpreting and implementing the Singapore Convention has been bestowed upon the contracting States. In terms of China, the People's Courts should continue to play an active role and undertake this task by issuing relevant judicial interpretations. Considering that it is unrealistic for China to immediately formulate a complete set of commercial mediation law to adapt to the Singapore Convention, and that rushed legislation may also trigger unintended side effects, the Supreme People's Court can first formulate a series of judicial interpretations to provide a buffer zone for the implementation of the Singapore Convention in China in the early stage of applying the Convention. Such a legislative experiment can not only guarantee the applicability of the Singapore Convention but also lay a solid foundation for the formulation of China's Mediation Law in the future. All the issues mentioned above, including the issues of review procedures, review subjects, and expressly authorized permission of reservations, can be interpreted by the Supreme People's Court first, and after running this mechanism according to the interpretations for some time and upon summarizing the lessons learned from the practice, the legislative draft can be formulated.

Second, a commercial mediation law should be promulgated while maintaining the existing systems of court mediation, people's mediation, and specialized mediation. In recent years, many countries and regions have enacted special legislation on mediation. In 2012, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region enacted the Mediation Ordinance, which is intended to provide a suitable legal framework for mediation in Hong Kong SAR and avoid compromising the inherent flexibility of mediation. In 2017, the Singapore Parliament passed the Mediation Act, which provides a more stable legal guarantee for parties to commercial disputes to conduct mediation in Singapore. In view of this, China should also formulate a fundamental law of mediation that is applicable to domestic and international commercial disputes, and establish the following two basic principles: the principle of autonomy of will, and the principle of strict confidentiality.

Third, commercial mediation experimentations can be carried out in China's pilot free trade zones, leveraging the institutional advantages of China's pilot free trade zones in experimenting with reforms, A number of free trade zones can serve as the test areas in the process of improving China's commercial mediation system to accelerate the development of a diversified dispute resolution mechanism including commercial mediation. For example, the "Overall Plan for Lingang New Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone" issued by the State Council in July 2019 allows overseas commercial dispute resolution institutions to conduct business in the Lingang New Area, providing new impetus for the development of the commercial mediation system in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. In this regard, the Supreme People's Court and the Shanghai High People's Court have also issued corresponding documents to support the development of the commercial mediation system based on the characteristics of judicial work. The local arbitration and mediation institutions in Shanghai have also responded to relevant policy guidelines and continued to improve arbitration rules and promote internationalization so as to give full play to the role of mediation in international commercial dispute resolution.

However, the scope of the free trade zones should not be confined to the existing commercial mediation services, and should be further developed with a global vision and benchmarked against international practices. On the one hand, Chinese mediation institutions should strengthen cooperation with top international commercial mediation institutions, continuously enhance the professionalism of mediators, and become a part of the international ADR community as soon as possible. On the other hand, it is necessary to adhere to market-oriented business operations, follow the inherent laws of commercial disputes, and ensure the sustainable development of commercial mediation. Market-oriented operation is not only important for the survival and development of commercial mediation institutions, but also embodies the recognition of the professionalism of specialized legal service institutions by society. By adopting this market-oriented approach, the institutions are also becoming internationalized.

Fourth, the nurturing of international commercial mediation talents should be strengthened. The professional capacity of mediators lies at the foundation of mediation institutions. By professionalism, it refers to a quality which not only takes root in the mediator's academic and professional background but also includes the mastery of mediation skills and techniques. Therefore, while the professional capacity of existing commercial mediators should be enhanced through various means, the cultivation of relevant talents in universities should also be promoted to build a team of international dispute resolution talents who are equipped with solid legal knowledge, broad international vision, and outstanding language skills.

In conclusion, the Singapore Convention is regarded as a milestone in the history of international commercial mediation, the promulgation of which has had a profound impact on international dispute resolution. Becoming a party to the Singapore Convention will be conducive to improving China's business environment and displaying a image of China opening up to the world. Therefore, strengthening the connection of relevant legal systems and the Convention and promoting the cultivation of talent will promote China's commercial mediation system to be in line with international standards, and accelerate the development of China into an international commercial dispute resolution hub.