Dozens of countries have joined China in establishing an international mediation-based dispute resolution group.

Representatives of more than 30 other countries, from Pakistan and Indonesia to Belarus and Cuba, signed the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed) in Hong Kong on Friday, becoming the founding members of the global organisation.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from some 50 other countries and about 20 organisations, including the United Nations.

An experiment

Shahla Ali, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said the International Organisation for Mediation would have the capacity to mediate disputes between states, between a state and a national of another state, or in international commercial disputes.

“Conventions can provide opportunities to experiment with new approaches," she said, noting rising interest in mediation globally as a means to resolve investor-state disputes.

Paul Lam, Hong Kong's secretary for justice, wrote that IOMed’s establishment came as "hostile external forces are attempting to de-internationalise and de-functionalise" Hong Kong.

The support of developing countries signalled Beijing's rising influence in the Global South amid heightened geopolitical tensions, partly exacerbated by US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs.

Dialogue, not division

The inauguration also comes amid growing geopolitical tensions, notably India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with its neighbour, Pakistan.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, who attended the signing ceremony, said the IOMed would become increasingly important amid mounting geopolitical tensions.

“When protectionism threatens to derail the international trade order, and when unilateralism looms over global supply chains, it is dialogue, not division – that restores balance,” he said.

Complementing UN

Yueming Yan, a law professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the new organisation is a complementary mechanism to existing institutions such as the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

“While the ICJ and PCA focus on adjudication and arbitration, IOMed introduces a structured, institutionalised form of alternative dispute resolution — namely, mediation — on a global scale,” she said.

Although many details about the new body are yet to be clarified, it could open the door for greater synergy between formal litigation or arbitration and more flexible methods like mediation, she said.

Zero-sum mindset

At the ceremony, Beijing's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China has long advocated for handling differences with a spirit of mutual understanding and consensus-building through dialogue while aiming to provide “Chinese wisdom” for resolving conflicts between nations.

“The establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation helps to move beyond the zero-sum mindset of ‘you lose and I win’, he said.

The body, headquartered in Hong Kong, aims to help promote the amicable resolution of international disputes and build more harmonious global relations, he said.

Beijing has touted the organisation as the world's first intergovernmental legal organisation for resolving disputes through mediation, saying it will be an important mechanism in safeguarding the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.