Jiang Zhuoqing, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and director of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, said that in 2019 courts in Shanghai led the country in terms of quality and efficiency of adjudicatory work, the comprehensive supporting reform of the judicial system has achieved initial success.

According to Jiang, the city's courts accepted a total of 866,300 cases of various types in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 8.5 percent. and concluded 865,500 of them, a rise of 9 percent from a year earlier. Almost 93 percent of the cases were concluded in the first instance while 98.9 percemt of them were concluded after the second instance. Seven of the concluded cases last year were included in the gazette of the Supreme People's Court, the highest number for any city's courts in China.

The courts have achieved good results in creating a law-based business environment, carrying out a special campaign to crack down on mafia-style organizations, and comprehensively deepening judicial reform.

Jiang pointed out that they have played an important role in building a law-based business environment. He requested them to continue to effectively resolve disputes related to the epidemic prevention and control, improve the rescue and market exit mechanism for enterprises, properly handle labor disputes arising from the epidemic, provide strong legal support for stabilizing employment and ensuring people's livelihoods, and ensure healthy social and economic development and social stability. He also stressed creating a stable, fair, transparent and predictable environment in which market players can invest and grow.

Jiang fully appreciates what courts in Shanghai have done since the outbreak. He said that for example the Shanghai High People's Court has timely issued targeted judicial interpretations, properly tried cases related to the epidemic, and issued typical cases, providing strong judicial support for strengthening the epidemic prevention and maintaining social stability.

Court generally have promoted online litigation services and launched a text-message-based litigation fee payment system and an app-based online complaint and letter submission system, bringing substantial convenience to litigants; they also promoted online trial hearings and mediation, promoting efficient dispute resolution and effectively meeting litigant's needs. In addition, they punished crimes related to epidemic prevention and control and tried a number of cases involving fraud, causing disturbances, hindering government agencies from performing their duties, impeding the prevention and control of infectious diseases and selling precious and endangered wild animals. They harshly cracked down on crimes related to the epidemic and creating a stable and safe environment for enterprises' resumption of work and production.

In terms of helping enterprises resume work and production, Jiang pointed out that the courts actively led litigants to resolve their disputes through mediation. As a result, 75 percent of cases were withdrawn from litigation.

Jiang stressed that the epidemic has not only posed challenges for the courts but also brought them opportunities. He said he expects the courts to uphold justice in their proceedings, deepen the reform of the judicial system and fulfill their commitment to preserve justice for the people.