On May 1, 2026, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) announced its newly updated Panel of Arbitrators, effective from May 1, 2026. Four Han Kun partners, Mr. Xianglin Chen, Mr. David Gu, Ms. Christine Kang, and Mr. Wei Sun (in alphabetical order by surname), were appointed as CIETAC arbitrators for the new term.
Xianglin Chen
PE/VC, Foreign Investment, Corporate Law, and Asset Management
Mr. Xianglin Chen specializes in commercial arbitration and cross-border dispute resolution, with nearly two decades of practice experience. He has extensive experience representing foreign clients and multinational corporations in China-related commercial disputes, as well as advising major domestic enterprises in overseas commercial disputes. Mr. Chen has handled a wide range of complex and high-profile matters across various sectors, including investment and financing disputes, joint venture disputes, disputes in the life sciences and pharmaceutical sector, product liability cases, and public crisis management. Mr. Chen is a listed/recommended arbitrator with multiple well-known domestic and international arbitration institutions, including HKIAC, CIETAC, BAC, SCIA, the China Maritime Arbitration Commission, and the Zhuhai Arbitration Commission, and he has served as both presiding and sole arbitrator in numerous cases.
David Gu
International Trade, Construction, Energy, and International Commercial Arbitration
David Gu specializes in complex commercial dispute resolution, with a focus on commercial arbitration and foreign-related or cross-border commercial dispute resolution. He has represented large Chinese business entities and multinational companies to participate in domestic and international arbitration proceedings, administered under the rules of ICC Court of Arbitration, LCIA, HKIAC, SIAC, SCC Court of Arbitration, Swiss Arbitration Court, CIETAC, and BAC, among others. Mr. Gu has represented clients in a wide array of commercial cases, including international business transaction disputes, IP licensing disputes, public infrastructure and construction disputes, Sino-foreign JV and corporate shareholding disputes (cross border M&A and investment funds), financial derivative disputes, as well as cross border asset tracing. Mr. Gu also has extensive litigation experience in Chinese national courts. He has represented several types of cases, including recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards or foreign national court civil or commercial judgments for Chinese and foreign clients, applications for interim measures in aid of the Hong Kong-seated arbitration proceedings, as well as a large number of domestic construction projects, on-demand bank guarantees, product liability and sale of goods cases, etc. in Chinese court trials and enforcement proceedings.
Christine Kang
International Arbitration and Cross-Border Dispute Resolution; MDB Investigations, Sanctions, and Compliance; U.S. Litigation (Enforcement of Arbitral Awards and Court Judgments)
Christine has significant experience in resolving cross-border disputes and enjoys a high reputation in international arbitration. She also has extensive and successful experiences in Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) investigation, sanction, and compliance matters. Christine is widely recognized for her abundant arbitration experience, and was invited to serve as a member of the Council of AAA, the AAA-ICDR Rules Revision Committee, AAA Asia Advisory Committee, the WIPO International Advisory Committee, as well as the HKIAC Proceedings Committee. She has served as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator, and party-nominated arbitrator in a variety of arbitration cases, and she is listed as an arbitrator on the panels of world major international arbitration institutions, including AAA, HKIAC, JAMS, SIAC, ICC, LCIA, WIPO, CIETAC, BAC, SHIAC, SCIA, and Guangdong-HK-Macao GBA.
Wei Sun
Corporate Equity, Securities, Financial Regulation, and International Commercial Arbitration
Mr. Sun specializes in commercial litigation and arbitration, cross-border dispute resolution, and banking and finance. With extensive experience in commercial litigation and arbitration, he has handled numerous high-stakes, complex, and influential cases over the years, including financial disputes, equity investment disputes, private fund disputes, and international commercial disputes. He provides domestic and cross-border dispute resolution support to financial institutions, private funds, multinational corporations, and domestic enterprises. Mr. Sun also serves as an arbitrator and mediator for several prominent arbitration institutions, such as the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, the Shanghai International Arbitration Center, the Shanghai Arbitration Commission, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, the Hangzhou Arbitration Commission, and the China Sports Arbitration Commission. He has presided over or acted as sole arbitrator in many arbitration cases. Additionally, Mr. Sun has advised institutional clients on matters related to domestic and international investments, financial institution governance, securities compliance, private funds, syndicated loans, and cross-border financing.
The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) is one of the major permanent arbitration institutions in the world. CIETAC independently and impartially resolves international and domestic economic and trade disputes, including international investment disputes, through arbitration. It also provides alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services such as mediation, domain name dispute resolution, and construction dispute review.
