From 9 to 10 September 2026, as an enterprise internally recommended by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and Hongqiao International Central Legal Services District, Shanghai Sunway Law Firm travelled to Hong Kong to attend the 11th Belt and Road Summit, jointly organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. During the Summit, Sunway representatives attended the Opening Session, Roundtable on Shanghai-Hong Kong collaborating in Seizing Belt and Road Opportunities, Go Global Chapter, and a series of thematic breakout sessions—including the forum on legal innovation powering Belt and Road trade, legal infrastructure development and cross-border dispute resolution—and were also invited to the Cocktail Reception, engaging in exchanges with institutions, platforms and enterprises from Hong Kong and Belt and Road partner countries and regions.

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Seizing the Summit Opportunity: New Trends in High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation

Under the theme “Advancing High-quality Development, Embarking on a New Journey”, the Summit was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, attracting more than 6,000 government, business and professional representatives from over 70 countries and regions, alongside more than 120 exhibitors and over 100 distinguished speakers. The Hon John KC Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, delivered the Opening Remarks; H.E. Aripov Abdulla, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, H.E. Carolina Cosse, Vice President of Uruguay, and H.E. Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister of Laos, delivered Special Addresses; and Yan Dong, Vice Minister of Commerce, and Li Zhen, Vice Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, also addressed the Opening Session. During the Summit, more than 60 cooperation memoranda of understanding were exchanged.

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Sunway representatives followed the Opening Session and the Main Forum proceedings throughout, paying particular attention to Hong Kong’s latest developments in its agreement network, global economic and trade footprint and dispute resolution services, and formed its assessment in light of the frontline needs of outbound enterprises. The Firm is of the view that, amid the profound adjustment of global supply chains, diversification is “no longer a choice but a necessity”. Hong Kong’s role as a two-way springboard “backed by the motherland and connected to the world” and as both a “super connector” and a “super value-adder” has been further strengthened. Cross-border legal services need to engage earlier in an enterprise’s market selection and structure design, rather than stepping in reactively only after a transaction has begun.

Matching the Service Needs of Enterprises Going Global

Roundtable on Shanghai-Hong Kong collaborating in Seizing Belt and Road Opportunities

As a key supporting event of the Summit, Roundtable on Shanghai-Hong Kong collaborating in Seizing Belt and Road Opportunities was held on the afternoon of 9 September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. More than 200 representatives from relevant government departments, chambers of commerce and industry associations, and enterprises of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Belt and Road partner countries and regions were invited to exchange views on enterprises’ participation in Belt and Road development and their needs in international expansion.

Chen Hao, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, delivered a presentation under the theme “Empowered by Services, Setting Sail as the Pioneer — Shanghai: A Springboard for Going Global and a Launchpad for Overseas”. Shanghai and Hong Kong enterprises from the legal, technology and investment-promotion sectors held interactive discussions on topics including the Shanghai Eastern Hub International Business Cooperation Zone, jointly exploring new opportunities for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and two-way investment. Representatives of professional service providers, including ACCA Hong Kong, and of investment-promotion agencies of Belt and Road countries such as Indonesia and Egypt, also delivered presentations.

As a representative of Shanghai’s legal service sector, Sunway took part in the session and held face-to-face discussions with enterprise representatives on site, exchanging information and exploring avenues for cooperation on the legal needs arising from overseas expansion, including cross-border investment and financing and commercial dispute resolution, laying the groundwork for deeper cross-border legal collaboration going forward.

Cocktail Reception

On the evening of 9 September, Sunway representatives were invited to the Summit’s Cocktail Reception. As a flagship networking event of the Summit, the reception brought together leading figures from political, business, financial and legal circles around the world. Professor Frederick S Ma, GBS, JP, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, delivered Welcome Remarks, and The Hon Paul T K Lam, SBS, SC, JP, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, delivered Special Remarks, facilitating exchanges on concrete projects and long-term economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road framework.

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Taking the opportunity of the Summit, the Firm’s representatives held in-depth discussions with distinguished guests from China and abroad, exchanging professional views on practical topics such as risk control in cross-border investment and financing, transnational industrial cooperation and foreign-related compliance, and helping to build bridges of communication for international cooperation. Going forward, Sunway will continue to draw on its frontline, hands-on strengths in foreign-related legal practice, empower practical Sino-foreign project cooperation with professional legal services, and support the high-quality development of cross-border economic and trade cooperation.

Focusing on the “Go Global Chapter”: How Professional Services Empower Global Expansion

The Summit featured its inaugural “Go Global Chapter”, comprising a series of thematic forums on legal and professional services, with a focus on key regions including ASEAN, Central Asia and the Middle East.

“Hong Kong: Super Connector · World-class Springboard – Professional Services Empowering Chinese Mainland Enterprises’ Belt and Road Ascent”

The Hon Paul T K Lam, SBS, SC, JP, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, systematically outlined Hong Kong’s institutional strengths: Hong Kong is the only common law jurisdiction in China and the only bilingual Chinese-English common law jurisdiction in the world, as well as the world’s second-most preferred and Asia’s most popular seat of arbitration; the headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation has been established in Hong Kong. Panellists further shared their experience on practical issues including full-cycle support for cross-border projects, the bankability of transaction documents, mixed multi-jurisdiction contract structures, and the preservation of performance documentation.

“Road Steppe Pact: Legal Innovation Powering Central Asia’s BRI Trade, Legal Infrastructure Development and Cross-Border Dispute Resolution”

Professor Teresa Cheng, GBM, GBS, SC, JP, Secretary-General of the International Organization for Mediation, introduced the distinctive value of mediation in international investment disputes. Speakers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan presented the latest developments of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and the Tashkent International Financial Centre (TIFC), which draw on common law principles, English-language adjudication and dedicated institutional arrangements to attract investment, offering concrete legal pathways for Chinese enterprises laying out their presence in Central Asia.

Drawing on these thematic discussions and its own experience in handling projects, Sunway will focus particular attention on the following issues closely related to enterprises going global:

1. The profile of outbound enterprises is expanding from large corporations to a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises, for whom how to structure offshore operations, where to establish their first foothold and how to resolve disputes have become front-loaded needs;
2. Belt and Road projects commonly involve the intersection and application of different legal systems. Multi-jurisdiction contract structures must be clearly mapped out; under limited-recourse project financing, transaction documents must be designed to bankability standards, with close attention to evidence preservation and the application of contractual provisions during performance;
3. Coordinated cross-border dispute resolution pathways combining mediation, arbitration and litigation, and the integration and use of Hong Kong’s arbitration and mediation resources.

Continuously Expanding the Foreign-related Legal Service Network to Support the Steady Overseas Expansion of Chinese Enterprises

Following the 2026 Pakistan-China Investment Conference in Lahore and the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference 2026 in Hangzhou, this Summit marks another occasion on which Sunway has taken part in a high-level international platform for economic and trade cooperation. It signals that Sunway’s practice of empowering Chinese enterprises’ overseas expansion through integrated services built on a foundation of legal and compliance expertise is extending from single-market engagement toward multi-region, cross-jurisdiction coordination of international resources.

Sunway’s participation in the Hong Kong Summit forms part of its ongoing, practical efforts to follow the legal service needs of Chinese enterprises going global and to expand its overseas collaboration resources. Going forward, the Firm will continue to connect with enterprises, law firms, arbitration and mediation institutions and other professional service providers in Hong Kong and Belt and Road partner countries. Built on a foundation of legal and compliance services, and coordinating resources spanning industry, capital and local partners, the Firm will provide one-stop services covering market entry, transaction structuring, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution.

Sources: HKTDC · Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce · Hongqiao International Central Legal District