Shanghai Maritime Court [Photo: VCG]

Shanghai was among the first regions to establish a maritime court. During a visit to the city's Changxing Island Circuit Tribunal on Wednesday, a Global Times reporter found that the history and evolution of Shanghai's maritime judiciary stand as both a witness to and a microcosm of China's broader development in maritime justice—demonstrating how the system also works to safeguard the nation's maritime sovereignty and security.   

The Changxing Island Circuit Court stands adjacent to Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard, where China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, was built. Sun Jialei, a shipyard employee, told the Global Times that without a stable and reliable legal framework, no enterprise can sustain the kind of growth needed to meet the nation's ambitions in advanced manufacturing.

Shanghai's court system has cultivated a robust rule-of-law environment that bolsters business confidence and corporate development. The introduction of model jurisdiction clauses, Sun added, enables shipbuilders to recommend Chinese jurisdiction to foreign suppliers—prompting more overseas partners to choose Chinese courts for dispute resolution.

In recent years, Shanghai's courts have focused on advancing China's ambition to become a maritime power, supporting the city's growth as an international shipping hub, and promoting the high-quality development of the maritime economy, while continuously improving the efficiency of maritime justice, said Jin Xiaofeng, president of the maritime and admiralty division of the Shanghai High People's Court. 

Jin noted that those courts not only handled traditional cases involving shipping and trade but also disputes linked to the blue economy and marine environmental protection. They adjudicate complex international maritime disputes as well as small livelihood-related cases involving fishermen and seafarers. 

Above all, Jin said, Shanghai courts uphold the lawful rights and interests of both Chinese and foreign parties equally, while firmly defending the nation's maritime sovereignty, security, and development interests. 

The Shanghai maritime court has exercised jurisdiction over a series of shipwreck cases related to the Huangyan Dao incident, fully asserting China's maritime sovereignty, the Global Times learned. 

At the same time, it has reinforced judicial responses in foreign-related maritime and admiralty affairs against sanctions, interference, and long-arm jurisdiction, providing legal protection for Chinese enterprises "going global."

For example, after a major Chinese security technology firm was placed on a US sanctions list, a foreign shipping company refused to issue a bill of lading after the company's goods were shipped to Panama, preventing the consignee from taking delivery and causing substantial losses. 

Upon application, the Shanghai Maritime Court issued a maritime mandatory order requiring the foreign shipping company to deliver the bill of lading, thereby protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese enterprise.

Shanghai's maritime courts have also heard a series of logistics disputes linked to infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Cases included losses from over 200 engineering vehicles exported by a Chinese firm for a highway project in Yemen damaged amid local conflict; power plant equipment sent to Indonesia that was destroyed in a port fire; and electronic goods shipped via the China-Europe Railway that were derailed in the Czech Republic following a landslide.

In each case, the courts helped Chinese exporters recover losses through legal channels, promoted the use of insurance to manage risks, and provided judicial backing for enterprises expanding overseas —strengthening their efforts to tap global markets and deepen international trade cooperation.

Over the past four decades, Chinese courts have handled a total of 88,000 foreign-related maritime cases involving parties from 146 countries and regions, said Shen Hongyu, director of the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court (SPC). Shen noted that Chinese courts have actively contributed to global ocean governance reform system.

Shen said that in recent years, Chinese courts have become more proactive and influential in participating in and promoting global ocean governance reform. Maritime justice, she added, serves as a key instrument for advancing the vision of a maritime community with a shared future and contributing to the evolution of global ocean governance.