The signing ceremony of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships(the Convention) took place in Beijing on September 5. Wang Shouwen, Representative for International Trade Negotiations and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, attended the signing ceremony, delivered a speech and signed the Convention on behalf of China. Wang Shumei, Vice minister-level member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court, Sima Hong, Deputy Mayor of Beijing, and Anna, Secretary-General of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, attended the signing ceremony and delivered speeches.

Representatives from 34 countries and regions attended the ceremony, and 15 countries and regions, including China, Switzerland, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia, became the first signatories of the Convention. The Convention will thereafter be open for signature at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The Convention, drafted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law over a period of four years and adopted in December 2022 by the UN General Assembly, is aimed at solving cross-border recognition of judicial sale of ships and ensuring legal certainty as to the title that the purchaser acquires in the ship as it navigates internationally,which enhances the stability of the relevant rights and is conducive to protecting the incentives of financial institutions in ship financing and promoting the development of international shipping and trade. The Convention is the first United Nations convention in the field of maritime commerce to be named after a Chinese city, and is a true portrayal of China's practice of true multilateralism and its promotion of building a a community with a shared future for mankind.

（Source：official website of the Ministry of Commerce）