It is very pressing for China and ASEAN countries to set up mechanism for legal changes and cooperation, so as to help resolve trade disputes and promote the construction of China-ASEAN free trade area (FTA), legal experts said in Naning Thursday.

More than 100 legal experts and law operators from China and nine ASEAN member states, including Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines, gathered in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, for a China-ASEAN top forum on legal cooperation and development which opened Thursday.

Feliciano Bautista, executive vice president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, said the deepening of ASEAN-China cooperation may also lead to some problems which need to be settled according to law.

However, he said, differences exist among legal systems of ASEAN countries and China. They should hold frequent discuss, consultation on legal issues in a bid to seek common ground and mutual understanding.

He held that ASEAN and China should set up mechanism for regular legal exchanges, and make efforts to understand each other's law and policies through working group consultation, forum and personnel exchanges.

President of China Law Society Han Zhubin held that the current forum should be set as a China-ASEAN long-term mechanism for legal exchanges. Countries can conduct legal seminars, lectures under the framework of the forum, and arrange high-level visits of the legal circle.

Dan Yanzheng, Director of Research Division of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, suggests countries in the region establish special organizations to do research in specific topics concerning law such as juristic cooperation, public security, terrorism and cross-border crimes.

He also proposed countries arrange personnel to translate relevant law of countries in the region so as to provide foundation for trade cooperation.

He said his university is cooperating with some law universities and legal organizations for setting up a China-ASEAN legal research center. "It is a practice to push forward in-depth research in the legal field, and provide legal support and guarentee for China-ASEAN economic cooperation and regional integration." He said.

Khammy Xayavong, president of Lao Supreme Court, the current forum is a starting point of the establishment of ASEAN-China legal exchange mechanism. Experts will discuss details of setting up the mechanism in the near future.

The legal exchanges mechanism is also an important and efficient way to resolve disputes in FTA construction." He said.

Source: Xinhua