China-U.S. Business Dispute Resolution Center Formed

In an important move aimed at furthering east-west trade agreements, the CPR Institute, a nonprofit alliance of 500 of the largest global corporations, law firms, scholars, and public institutions and CCPIT, the most important and largest institution for the promotion of foreign trade in China, are forming a U.S.-China Business Mediation Center to help resolve disputes involving U.S. and Chinese businesses. The Center will have offices in New York, New York and Beijing, China.

This significant development comes at a time when the volume of Chinese imports and exports has reached an all-time high of $126.33 billion. The United States is China's second-largest trading partner after Japan. Beijing has sent two multibillion-dollar buying missions to the United States in recent months. (Source: China's Ministry of Commerce) Are they visiting your community?

CPR Institute For Dispute Resolution is a pioneer and leader in the area of dispute resolution. Founded in 1979 as the Center for Public Resources, CPR promotes excellence and innovation in public and private dispute resolution, and serves as a primary multinational resource for avoidance, management and resolution of business-related and other disputes. CPR's unparalleled wealth of intellectual property and published material in this area has educated and motivated America toward an increased reliance on negotiation rather than litigation. CPR's proprietary Panel of esteemed arbitrators and mediators has provided resolutions in thousands of cases, with billions of dollars at issue, worldwide.

So, are there any economic developers involved in this initiative? Maybe there should be.

For more information, go to CPR's web site at www.cpradr.org.