Reprinted from: CMAC Official WeChat Account, September 24, 2026

On September 19, 2026, a training event on “Negotiable Cargo Documents to Advance Digitalization and Efficiency in International Transport” was held in Beijing. The event was jointly organized by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC), and Peking University, with the support of the China Maritime Law Association. Representatives from government departments, judicial institutions, academia, international organizations, the transport and logistics sectors, and financial institutions in China and abroad participated in person or online.

The training event

Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary of UNCITRAL; Guo Li, Dean of Peking University Law School; and Li Hu, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of CMAC, attended the event and delivered opening remarks.

Secretary Anna Joubin-Bret delivers remarks

In her remarks, Secretary Anna Joubin-Bret noted that the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents (the Convention) establishes, for the first time, a unified legal framework for negotiable cargo documents (NCDs), including those in electronic form, across all modes of transport. She emphasized the Convention’s value in providing legal certainty and facilitating cross-border recognition, and announced that its signing ceremony would take place on October 26, 2026, in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Dean Guo Li delivers remarks

Dean Guo Li warmly welcomed the participants on behalf of Peking University Law School. He noted that the Convention draws extensively on China’s practical experience and theoretical research and is set to have a profound impact on global trade and international transport. He commended the important professional contributions made by the Peking University Law School team to advancing the Convention and wished the training every success.

Secretary-General Li Hu delivers remarks

In his remarks, Secretary-General Li Hu stated that CMAC has always attached great importance to exchanges and cooperation with UNCITRAL. CMAC was closely involved in drafting and developing the Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships and has continued to participate in relevant working group meetings as an observer to UNCITRAL. Going forward, CMAC will further broaden and deepen this cooperation and participate more actively in developing and improving international maritime rules. Through its specialized arbitration practice, industry training, and seminars, it will continue to fulfill its role as a specialized arbitration institution and contribute its expertise to the future implementation and application of the Convention.

The training covered six topics: the Convention’s main provisions; practical tools to support its implementation and promotion; domestic pathways for China’s ratification and implementation of the Convention; the relationship between the Convention and existing international legal instruments on the carriage of goods; industry perspectives on the future impact of NCDs on international trade; and NCD pilot projects. Participants also discussed the challenges, opportunities, and possible next steps for ratification and effective implementation of the Convention.

Nearly 30 distinguished experts from China and abroad were invited to speak at the event, representing the United Nations system, the International Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Commerce, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China, the Chongqing High People’s Court, relevant local government departments, CMAC, industry associations, businesses, and academia. Chinese speakers who also serve as CMAC arbitrators included Zhu Zuoxian, Dean of the Law School of Dalian Maritime University; Guo Yu, Director of the Maritime Law Research Center at Peking University; Zheng Rui, Executive Deputy Director of the Maritime Law Research Center at Shanghai Maritime University; and Li Xiaofeng, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of China Merchants Port Group Co., Ltd.

Huang Chenliang, Deputy Secretary-General of CMAC’s Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone Arbitration Center, moderated the third session, which addressed domestic pathways for China’s ratification and implementation of the Convention.

Deputy Secretary-General Huang Chenliang moderates the third session

The event concluded with closing remarks by Harry Zevon, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ghana in China.

Held between the Convention’s adoption by the United Nations General Assembly at its eightieth session in December 2025 and its opening for signature in Accra, Ghana, in October 2026, the training was an important event that provided an international platform for a systematic examination of the Convention and expert discussion. It helped deepen participants’ comprehensive understanding of the Convention and support its successful opening for signature.