China's first financial court accepts 2,900 cases since establishment

SHANGHAI - The Shanghai Financial Court has accepted nearly 2,900 cases since its establishment in August 2018, with the total amount of claims surpassing 40 billion yuan ($6 billion).

Xiao Kai, the court's vice president, revealed the figure Sunday at a symposium on globalization, peaceful development of China and major transnational litigation" in Shanghai.

The Shanghai Financial Court is the country's first court specializing in handling finance-related cases.

Xiao said the main types of cases accepted by the court were disputes involving securities, financial borrowing contracts, corporate bond trading, financial lease contracts and business trust.

"On the one hand, the court needs to resolve a large number of cases involving financial disputes; on the other hand, it needs to truly play the role of financial trial by making 'great judgments' on the first, complex and typical cases, so as to stabilize market expectations and enhance the market order and rule," Xiao said.

William Blair, former commercial court judge of the High Court of England and Wales, said at the symposium that the Shanghai Financial Court will make a very important contribution because it is a specialist financial court.

"This will help contribute to financial stability and will make Chinese financial law better understood worldwide," he said.