Courts see big jump in foreign cases

Dispute increase reflects deeper opening-up and rule-of-law push

China saw a significant increase in civil, commercial and maritime cases related to foreign entities in the first half of the year, providing judicial support for high-quality development and further opening-up, the country's top court said.

Chinese courts concluded 15,000 first-instance civil and commercial lawsuits involving foreign litigants from January to June, up 28 percent from the same period last year, according to data released on Monday by the Supreme People's Court.

During the period, first-instance maritime disputes reached 10,000, marking a nearly 36 percent increase year-on-year.