The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has opened a representative office in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) as it looks to strengthen ties with lawyers and firms in mainland China.

Sophia Feng, a China-qualified lawyer who has been in charge of SIAC’s China desk since 2014, will head the Shanghai office. Previously, she was a counsel with a Beijing law firm.

SIAC’s Shanghai office is its third outpost abroad, following offices in Mumbai, India, and Seoul, South Korea, both of which were launched in 2013. The new branch is expected to help promote SIAC’s services to Chinese users, as the country has ranked in the centre’s list of top five sources of foreign clients in the last five years.

It also aims to work with China’s arbitration commissions to encourage global best practices by organising networking events and training workshops for arbitrators and practitioners.

In November, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) also formally established a presence in the Shanghai FTZ. These office openings come as China’s State Council looks to support “the introduction of internationally renowned commercial dispute resolution institutions” as its pushes for the FTZ’s further development.