Gulou district in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, is setting a benchmark in the integration of digital innovation and foreign-related legal services. Through platform building, resource integration, and fostering coordinated development, the district has established a comprehensive foreign-related legal service system that connects the legal service ecosystem, links global networks, and supports enterprises in overseas expansion, strengthening the competitiveness of the region's high-quality development through the rule of law.
A major step in this effort is the recent launch of the Jiangsu (Nanjing) Foreign-Related Legal Service Center, aiming to establish itself into a new hub for foreign-related legal services based in Nanjing, serving Jiangsu, extending nationwide, and reaching key countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The center features four core functional platforms: comprehensive legal consultation on foreign-related affairs, international commercial and maritime dispute resolution, foreign-related legal services for enterprises, and cultivation of high-caliber talent. It offers a wide range of services, including foreign-related notarization and arbitration, foreign law ascertainment, cross-border finance and insurance services, international commercial authentication, services for overseas sci-tech talents, cross-border dispute resolution, maritime dispute adjudication, overseas intellectual property rights dispute resolution, and the cultivation of foreign-related legal professionals.
To bolster the district's capacity in this field, the Justice Bureau of Gulou has established the province's first dedicated division for foreign-related legal affairs, efficiently advancing the development of the Jiangsu (Nanjing) International Legal Service Center.
Moreover, the justice bureau has formed a specialized legal service task force to position the legal service sector as a key driver and breakthrough point for the district's industrial growth. Through the introduction of targeted measures to support the high-quality development of the legal service sector, the district has refined its policy framework and fostered a favorable environment to spur new momentum in the industry.
To build world-class legal service spaces, the justice bureau has integrated and fully leveraged legal service resources, including those from lawyers, arbitrators, and mediators, ensuring the alignment of policy coordination, resource integration, and service delivery.
In addition, the bureau has also taken the lead in establishing a foreign-related rule of law alliance with law schools of 14 prestigious universities, including Nanjing University, Southeast University, China University of Political Science and Law, and East China University of Political Science and Law. The alliance focuses on optimizing talent cultivation models and exploring innovative solutions to practical challenges in foreign-related legal affairs through specialized courses, practical training, and international exchange programs.
Moving forward, Gulou district will integrate high-level legal service resources including legal accounting, forensic auditing, and data exchange evaluations, to systematically empower domestic and international market entities, and strengthen full-cycle risk management in key areas such as cross-border transactions and corporate governance.
The district will also further promote the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with legal services, and harness legal technology to reshape new paradigms for foreign-related services. By empowering enterprises' global expansion with AI, it aims to build a high-quality, international, and intelligent model for the integration of legal services and business development.