Chuck spoke on the Suspension of Payment under an Independent Guarantee in China at the session Designing Secure Trade Agreement based on his extensive experience of participation in projects involving Chinese companies.

Chuck provided the audience with a comprehensive overview of the legal regulation of suspension of payment under the guarantee in China, emphasizing certain legal aspects in terms of requirements to documents. Chuck also discussed the “beyond reasonable doubt” standard applied by Chinese courts when considering suspension of payment under guarantees and the conservative approach of Chinese courts to this issue following the 2016 clarifications issued by the Supreme People's Court of China.

Chuck also highlighted court cases involving suspension of payments under the guarantee noting potential problems in such disputes. Among other things, the Chinese law treats any fraudulent claim under the guarantee as tort, therefore, the Chinese court may always entertain jurisdiction in respect to such dispute. Chuck also touched upon the risks of parallel proceedings and conflicting decisions in different jurisdictions and the strategies to mitigate such risks.

To keep up with the conference's focus on the trends of global trade, Chuck discussed the emerging practice of referring to the ICC DOCDEX forum to resolve disputes related to independent guarantees. DOCDEX is an efficient and cost-effective alternative to arbitration or litigation: the panel of three experts renders a balanced opinion on a dispute within two to three months. Chuck highlighted the advantages of DOCDEX such as convenience of the procedure, competence of experts, and confidentiality of decisions, which, while being non-binding (unless approved by the parties), serve as valuable guidelines for practitioners to avoid unnecessary disputes.

Chuck Peng's presentation for the ICC conference covered other practical aspects of suspending payments under the guarantees in China and generally offered a valuable perspective on this important area of international trade contracts.