On the afternoon of September 12, the Seminar on “Draft Convention on the Use of Transferable Transport Documents: Significance and Prospects”, hosted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and organized by Dalian Maritime University (DMU), was held at the International Maritime Institute, DMU. Tian Ya, Deputy Director-General (Level II Inspector) of the Department of Treaty and Law, Ministry of Commerce of China; Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary of UNCITRAL; and Shan Hongjun, President of DMU, attended the seminar online and offline and delivered speeches.

President Shan Hongjun, on behalf of the university, extended a warm welcome to all the leaders and guests attending the seminar both online and offline. He emphasized that the drafting of the Draft Convention on the Use of Transferable Transport Documents represents a landmark event in the development of international economic and trade rules in response to contemporary needs. It not only marks an important innovation in global trade law but also provides an institutional response to advancing high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. He expressed DMU’s willingness to take this seminar as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with legal scholars and practitioners at home and abroad, further build consensus, and pool wisdom to jointly promote the implementation and localization of the Convention, thereby contributing to a more open, inclusive, and resilient global trade ecosystem.

In his address, Tian Ya stated that the Convention on Transferable Transport Documents has important implications for addressing issues related to transport documents as documents of title in areas such as railway and road transport. It will contribute to the prosperity of international land-based trade and benefit global economic growth. He stressed that, once adopted, ensuring the Convention’s smooth implementation will become the focus of the next stage of work. He looked forward to this seminar providing valuable insights for its application.

Anna Joubin-Bret, on behalf of UNCITRAL, expressed heartfelt gratitude to DMU for hosting the seminar and looked forward to experts and scholars making full use of this platform to share their views and jointly promote the development of the Draft Convention. The opening session was chaired by Zhu Zuoxian, Dean of the Law School, DMU.

The seminar consisted of two main sessions. The first session, themed “The Significance and Institutional Design of the Draft Convention on Transferable Transport Documents”, was chaired by Han Lixin, Professor of the Law School, DMU. Speakers included representatives from UNCITRAL Working Group VI and members of the Chinese delegation. Beate Czerwenka, Chair of Working Group VI, and Li Yanying, Secretary of the Working Group, delivered online presentations titled Introduction to the Draft Convention on Transferable Transport Documents and Several Challenges in the Drafting Process of the Draft Convention, respectively. Xu Jun, Vice Chair of the ICC Banking Commission Advisory Board and ICC representative in Working Group VI; Guo Yu, Associate Professor of Peking University Law School and Chinese delegate to Working Group VI; and Zhu Zuoxian, Dean of DMU Law School and Chinese delegate to Working Group VI, delivered speeches titled Exploring the Practical Application of Transferable Transport Documents in Trade Finance, The Significance of the Draft Convention for Maritime Transport, and China’s Contribution to the Draft Convention on Transferable Transport Documents.

The second session was a roundtable dialogue on “Future Applications of the Draft Convention on Transferable Transport Documents”, chaired by Zhang Liying, Professor of the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL). Participants included Meng Yuqun, Advisor to the China Maritime Law Association and former General Counsel of China National Foreign Trade Transportation Group; Ou Haiyan, Judge of the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court of China and Chinese delegate to Working Group VI; Cui Jiaguo, Secretary-General of the China International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFA); Feng Chonggang, Captain and Manager of the Insurance and Claims Division, Legal and Risk Management Department of COSCO Shipping Lines; Song Anqi, Legal Counsel at China Merchants Group; Zheng Lei, Senior Partner at Co-effort Law Firm LLP, Shanghai; and Xu Jun. They discussed the Convention’s future applicability from perspectives such as corporate practice, judicial application, and dispute resolution, outlining forward-looking pathways for its implementation.

In the third interactive session, experts and scholars engaged in lively and in-depth discussions on the Convention’s future implementation.

More than 100 participants attended the seminar online and offline, including representatives from the Supreme People’s Court of China, local transportation authorities, leading universities such as CUPL and Peking University, enterprises including COSCO Shipping Lines and China Merchants Group, industry organizations such as CIFA, and law firms including Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm (JT&N) and Reed Smith Richards Butler.