On April 2, 2026, the competition season for the 33rd Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot came to a successful close. The Peking University Law School team made steady progress in the international Vis competitions and domestic pre-moot events, winning multiple awards through its legal expertise, rigorous reasoning, and outstanding competitive performance.

The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is the largest and most prestigious law competition in international civil and commercial law, and the only student competition organized worldwide by a United Nations body. It comprises two main competitions, held in Hong Kong (Vis East) and Vienna (Vis Moot). This year’s competition attracted 390 teams from leading universities around the world, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University, the University of Vienna, Heidelberg University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of Zurich.

The Peking University Law School team achieved significant breakthroughs in both international competitions.

At the 23rd Willem C. Vis (East) Moot in Hong Kong, the team faced strong competition from 153 teams worldwide. After several rounds of oral argument and the assessment of written memoranda, it reached the top 32, achieving the best result among universities from the Chinese mainland in this year’s competition. The team also received an Honorable Mention for its Memorandum for Respondent in recognition of its high standard of legal writing. Team member Tian Xinying received an Honorable Mention for Best Oralist for her outstanding performance in the oral rounds.

At the 33rd Willem C. Vis Moot in Vienna, the Peking University team received an Honorable Mention for its Memorandum for Claimant for the first time, becoming the only Chinese university to receive this memorandum award in this year’s competition. Peking University was also the only Chinese team that year to receive honorable mentions for both claimant and respondent memoranda across Vis East and Vis Moot, marking another significant achievement for the University in international commercial arbitration moot competitions.

The team performed equally well in the domestic competitions. At the 23rd CIETAC Cup International Commercial Arbitration Moot, the students won a national First Prize. Tian Xinying received the Best Oralist award for the quarterfinals, and Chen Guangsheng received a Best Oralist award for the general rounds. At the 16th Moot Shanghai International Commercial Arbitration Moot, the team reached the global top four, demonstrating the consistency and solid advocacy skills of Peking University students.

This year’s team was supervised by tenured A.P. Gao Wei of the Law School and coached by Law School visiting scholar Brooks Daly and Zhou Ziyi, a Juris Master student from the 2023 cohort. Team members were Chen Guangsheng, a Juris Master student from the 2025 cohort; Tian Xinying, an undergraduate from the 2024 cohort; Lai Zegeng, a Juris Master student from the 2024 cohort; Deng Diwen, an undergraduate from the 2024 cohort; Geng Zhenzhi, a Master of Laws student from the 2025 cohort; Zhang Zhizhi, an undergraduate from the 2022 cohort; Ling Zhaoyan, a Juris Master student from the 2024 cohort; and Niu Xinxin, an undergraduate from the 2022 cohort (listed in no particular order). Throughout their preparations, all team members studied diligently, repeatedly refined their memoranda, and undertook intensive oral advocacy practice. Their rigorous legal reasoning, accomplished communication, and close teamwork earned high praise from arbitrators and judges from different countries, demonstrating the professional competence and international outlook of Peking University’s young legal scholars and practitioners.

In recent years, Peking University Law School has consistently responded to China’s strategic needs in developing the rule of law in matters involving foreign parties and has continued to advance the education of highly qualified legal professionals for international practice. Using leading international legal competitions as a platform for practical training, the School strengthens students’ skills in international legal practice and seeks to cultivate versatile legal professionals with solid expertise, a broad international outlook, and a strong commitment to their country. In doing so, it contributes Peking University’s strengths to China’s efforts to educate legal professionals for international practice. We warmly congratulate the team’s faculty members and students once again and wish them further success!

Translated by Zhang Xinye