Written Arbitration Agreement

As a general rule of arbitration, no dispute may be referred to arbitration without a valid arbitration agreement between the disputing parties. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that international entrepreneurs reach an arbitration agreement when entering into cooperation with Chinese entities or individuals as litigation is more complicated in respect of legal procedures, thus more time-consuming and less cost-saving.

An arbitration agreement may be an arbitration clause in a contract or a separated agreement between the disputing parties whereby they agree and undertake to refer their disputes to arbitration reached.

An arbitration agreement must be made in writing or in any other written form before or after the occurrence of the disputes. An oral agreement to refer to arbitration is invalid and will not be admitted as evidence for acceptance of an arbitration case.

The term "writing" or "written form" means a written contract, letter, telegram, telex, fax, or any form in which the contents are tangibly expressed. Any electronic message that tangibly expresses its contents by means of electronic data interchange or e-mail and is accessible at any time shall be deemed in writing. 

An arbitration agreement in "any other written form" specified in Article 16 of the Arbitration Law may be an agreement to refer to arbitration reached in the form of a contract, letter, or data message (including but not limited to telegram, telex, fax, electronic data interchange, and e-mail) (see Article 1, The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China).