42 U. OF PENNSYLVANIA EAST ASIA LAW REVIEW Vol. 9 15 Years of the Handover: The Rise, Discontent, and Positive Interaction of Cross-border Arbitration in Hong Kong with Mainland China Weixia Gu1 Since the sovereignty handover and establishment of the Hong Kong SAR in 1997, Hong Kong has faced the dual challenges of balancing her need to facilitate a cross-border arbitration regime which is compatible with Mainland China under the principle of “one country, two systems”, and promoting herself as an international arbitration center. The two goals are at times incompatible, as accommodating the localized needs and standards of Mainland China often requires Hong Kong courts to be more “flexible” than established international arbitration standards would allow. This Article attempts to give a comprehensive analysis of the above problems. First, this Article surveys all the cases of the enforcement of Mainland China arbitration awards in Hong Kong courts since the handover to present the actual interpretation of the standard of cross-border arbitration in Hong Kong with Mainland 1 LLB (East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai), MCL, SJD (University of Hong Kong), Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Assistant Professor and Co-Director, Master of Common Law Programme, Deputy Director, Center for Chinese Law, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong (Email:
[email protected]). The idea and draft of the Article benefited from the presentation, discussions and comments by Professors Michael Palmer, Leon Trackman, Tom Ginsburg, Anselmo Reyes, Albert Chen, Douglas Arner, Zhang Xianchu, Fu Hualing, Dr. P Y Lo, and Mr. Chen Jianlin, as well as other participants at the HKU-UNSW International Economic Law- China Roundtable held at University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law (December 6-7, 2012), International Workshop on Access to Justice in China held at Shantou University School of Law (March 18-19, 2013), and Chicago University School of Law China Law Society Luncheon Talk (April 22, 2013).