International Seminar titled "Digital Economy Era: ODR and Cross-border Trade Regulation " was held in Beijing on 16 October, 2020, co-hosted by the PRC Ministry of Commerce and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITAL), co-organized by the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Arbitration Law (CAAL), the International Commercial Arbitration Council (ICCA). Mr MO Jihong, Director of the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Mr ZHANG Chunhe, Head of Guangzhou Internet Court, Ms Lucy Reed, Chairman of ICCA, and Mr Jae Sung Lee of the UNCITAL attended the seminar and delivered welcome speeches. More than 30 delegates from the PRC Ministry of Justice, Internet Courts and arbitration institutions attended the seminar on-site and held an in-depth discussion on the development of innovative arbitration in the digital economy era and the challenges and opportunities faced by ODR services. CCTV Social and Law Channel, NetEase and other media broadcasted the seminar online. 

Dr Li Hu, Vice Chairman of CMAC made a speech titled "Thoughts on Due Process of ODRs". He said that even if ODR changes the venue where the traditional arbitration conducted and the way of communications and information exchange, it could meet the basic requirements of due process without against its basis and principles. First, the virtuality of cyberspace or the use of network technology would not weaken the impartiality of arbitration procedure. The key is to treat the parties equally and to give parties equal opportunities for presentation. Second, it is not impossible to find the balance between the efficiency and the legitimacy of the process upon careful and reasonable use of network technology. Third, online communication could not only help giving prompt notice to the parties, but also make document submission and exchange more rapid, and provide parties sufficient time to present the case. Finally, as long as the confidentiality and transparency are guaranteed upon specific type of commercial disputes, a breach of confidentiality could be effectively avoid.

Since the CMAC Online Arbitration Rules launched in 2019, CMAC has concluded a number of ODR cases. CMAC will continue to improve the quality and efficiency of its ODR services and continuously enhance the transparency and credibility of its ODR mechanism.