From the national stage to the Asia-Pacific arena, the Law School team of Dalian Maritime University (DMU) has once again achieved outstanding results!

In the 2026 Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot (FDI Moot) Asia-Pacific Regional, the DMU Law School team stood out from 30 teams across the Asia-Pacific region. After intense competition through four online preliminary rounds and two knockout rounds, the team successfully advanced to the Asia-Pacific Top Four, showcasing the professional competence and competitive demeanor of DMU law students on the international stage.

This marks another breakthrough for the DMU team on a higher-level international stage, following its earlier achievement of a national second prize at the 2026 FDI Moot Shenzhen Cup, which secured its qualification for the Asia-Pacific Regional.

Six Rounds, A Breakthrough Journey

This year’s Asia-Pacific Regional brought together 30 teams from multiple countries and regions across Asia and the Pacific. Compared with domestic competitions, the Asia-Pacific Regional featured a more diverse field of participants, requiring teams to face opponents with different legal education backgrounds and oral advocacy styles. This placed higher demands on participants’ legal analysis, English expression, and on-the-spot adaptability.

In the four online preliminary rounds, the DMU team competed against Vietnam National University, Yonsei University, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, and Sun Yat-sen University. Facing outstanding teams from different countries and regions, the team carefully analyzed the characteristics of each opponent and developed targeted arguments around the key issues in dispute. Maintaining a consistently strong performance throughout the intensive rounds, the team successfully advanced to the knockout stage.

Competition intensified after the team entered the knockout stage, where it faced Seoul National University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. From the online preliminary rounds to the knockout stage, the team continually refined its strategies against a succession of formidable opponents. During the hearings, the team members accurately identified the key issues of concern to the arbitral tribunal and responded adeptly to opposing arguments and questions from the tribunal. In light of the different advocacy styles they encountered, their coach, Professor Zhou Qinghua, provided targeted guidance on the team’s overall approach and oral advocacy strategies. He helped the team control the pace of each hearing, sharpen the focus of its arguments, and adapt its approach to each opponent. Under Professor Zhou’s guidance, the team members steadily adjusted to different competition styles and maintained a strong and consistent performance throughout the intensive online rounds.

After six rounds of intense competition, the DMU team ultimately secured a place among the top four teams in the Asia-Pacific Regional.

This achievement demonstrated the team’s ability to remain competitive across different stages, against diverse opponents, and under varying competition dynamics. It also reflected the professional confidence of DMU law students in an international competitive environment.

One Competition, Two Roles

In the Asia-Pacific Regional, DMU was represented by two students: Cheng Yaohan, a member of the 2024 cohort in the Law (Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education) program, and Zeng Bohan, a member of the 2022 cohort in the Law (Maritime Law) program.

During the competition, Cheng Yaohan was responsible for the procedural issues, while Zeng Bohan handled the substantive issues. Both students also presented oral arguments on behalf of both the Claimant and the Respondent.

This means that team members must not only be thoroughly familiar with the case itself, but also capable of swift shifts between different representation positions. They need to construct complete legal arguments from the perspective of the Claimant, and identify breakthrough points in the opposing arguments from the standpoint of the Respondent, so as to deliver targeted responses under varying hearing scenarios.

The interplay between procedural and substantive issues, coupled with constant shifts between the positions of the Claimant and the Respondent, placed higher demands on the team members’ legal analysis and ability to respond under pressure. During the competition, the two students worked in close coordination, developed arguments centering on their respective areas of responsibility, and adjusted their strategies in a timely manner according to the progress of hearings. They continuously accumulated experience and enhanced their capabilities through contests against outstanding teams from home and abroad.

International Arena, Display of Excellence

For the team, the significance of this Asia-Pacific Regional went beyond achieving a top-four finish. More importantly, it gave the team the opportunity to compete on an international stage and engage directly with outstanding university teams from across Asia and the Pacific.

From Vietnamese institutions including Vietnam National University and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, to Korean universities such as Yonsei University and Seoul National University, and further to domestic universities represented by Sun Yat-sen University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the team kept adjusting and making breakthroughs amid opponents of diverse styles.

Each round of competition tested the students’ professional competence while also providing a valuable opportunity for international exchange. Through direct engagements with university teams from diverse countries and regions, team members gained deeper insights into modes of thinking and oral advocacy characteristics shaped by different legal backgrounds. The experience also strengthened their understanding of the professional competence, international perspective and communication skills required of international legal talents.

Steady Steps Forward, Chasing the Dream

Going forward, the Law School of DMU will further strengthen the training of talents for foreign-related rule-of-law work and provide students with more platforms to participate in international legal practice and broaden their global vision. Taking this Asia-Pacific Regional as a new starting point, the team will keep honing its professional competence and enhancing practical capabilities on a broader international arena, and demonstrate the professional demeanour of DMU students with youthful vigour.