Amapola Grijalva（Mexico）
Senior Partner of World Trade Investors Group (WTI)
Founding Executive Vice President of the China Chamber of Commerce in Mexico
Distinguished Justices of the Supreme People’s Court, Justices of the China International Commercial Court and Distinguished Members of the International Commercial Expert Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honor to participate in this Fifth Seminar of the International Commercial Expert Committee.
I would like to begin with a simple proposition:
The future of international commercial mediation is not only about resolving disputes. It is about building trust before disputes become barriers to trade.
This is particularly important for our country, for example. Mexico and China are increasingly connected through supply chains, manufacturing, technology, infrastructure, logistics, investment and increasingly sophisticated commercial relationships.
And where there is more commerce, there will inevitably be more frictions and disagreements. The question is not whether disputes will arise.
The question is whether those disputes will become obstacles to our commercial interchange or opportunities to preserve it.
In 2026, China entered a new stage in the institutional development of commercial mediation with its national regulation. Mexico has also entered a new stage with its General Law on Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms enforced in 2024.
These developments reveal something important:
Our economies are moving in the same direction, even though our legal systems and institutional traditions are different. This sincronicity is a response to the challenges of the construction of a new world order.
From Alternative Dispute Resolution to Commercial Connectivity
For many years, we have described mediation as an alternative to litigation.
I believe we should now use a different concept.
Mediation should not be seen merely as an alternative to court.
It should be understood as commercial infrastructure.
A bridge between companies.
A bridge between legal systems.
A bridge between cultures.
And, ultimately, a bridge between economies.
A dispute between a Mexican company and a Chinese company may involve Mexican law, Chinese law, international contracts, different languages, different business cultures and different expectations about negotiation and justice. Litigation can resolve the legal question.
But mediation can sometimes resolve something even more valuable: the relationship itself. Business relationships are one of the most valuable assets. Because it is truly challenging to build trust on a long term basis.
Let me summarize by proposing three stepts for the modernization of international mediation mechanisms
First :
Establish a Commercial Mediation Dialogue
I propose the creation of a permanent dialogue among judicial institutions, mediation centers, arbitration institutions, universities and business organizations amongst the most important trading partners of China.
Its purpose would not simply be to exchange information.
It would be to develop compatible practices for cross-border commercial mediation.
We could begin with common protocols for:
- selection of mediators;
- confidentiality;
- digital proceedings;
- multilingual mediation;
- settlement agreements;
- mediation–arbitration procedures;
- and cross-border enforcement.
The objective would be simple:
When any foreign company enter into a commercial relationship, they should know in advance, how an eventual dispute can be resolved.
Second:
Create a Commercial Mediator Network
The second step is more operational.
Let us create a specialized network of mediators, trained not only in mediation techniques, but also in international commerce and intercultural negotiation.
Because successful mediation requires more than translating words. It requires translating interests. A Mexican entrepreneur may speak about flexibility. A Chinese entrepreneur may speak about long-term relationship. One may emphasize contractual rights. The other may emphasize commercial continuity.
A skilled international mediator must understand both languages of commerce. Specializing initially in: manufacturing, technology, intellectual property, logistics, energy, infrastructure, investment and international trade.
Third :
Build a Digital Mediation Bridge
The third step looks more towards the future.
We should promote the development of a digital platform for commercial mediation.
A platform where a dispute could be initiated in Mexico, a Chinese company could participate from China, and the mediator could conduct the entire process electronically.
But this should not be merely videoconferencing. The platform should incorporate: secure document exchange, electronic signatures, multilingual communication, procedural management and carefully regulated artificial intelligence tools.
AI could help organize documents, identify contractual issues, construct chronologies and assist communication.
This is already becoming part of the international conversation. UNCITRAL held a dedicated 2026 colloquium on artificial intelligence in dispute resolution and remote hearings in arbitration and mediation. Every country has the opportunity to participate in this transformation together—not simply as users of technology, but as contributors to the rules that will govern it.
In Conclusion
"How do we make international commerce more predictable, more resilient and more trusted?"
Mediation can contribute to all three.
It can reduce the cost of conflict.
It can preserve business relationships.
It can protect supply chains.
It can facilitate investment.
And it can create confidence between companies operating under different legal and cultural systems.
All the countries in the world do not need identical systems of mediation. We need bridges between our systems. Together we can create something greater: a bridge connecting commerce through trust, dialogue and law.
The future of commercial mediation should therefore not be measured only by the number of disputes we settle.It should be measured by the number of commercial relationships we are able to preserve.
From alternative dispute resolution to commercial connectivity. That is the bridge I believe we can build to a future of shared prosperity.
Thank you.
