On June 29-30, 2024, the “Third International Trust Law Frontier Seminar” (the “Seminar”), organized by Nankai University Law School and China Foreign Economic and Trade Trust Co. Ltd, co-organized by Beijing King&Capital Law Firm and King&Capital Shijiazhuang Information Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd, and supported by Beijing Trust Law Society, was successfully held in Beijing. The Third International Trust Law Frontier Seminar (hereinafter referred to as the “Seminar”) was successfully held in Beijing. The Seminar brought together more than two hundred experts, scholars and frontline practitioners from home and abroad to focus on trust inclusive services and transformation of industry characteristics, to discuss in-depth important theoretical and practical issues in the field of trust law such as the revision of trust law, trust registration, trust tax system and trustees' fiduciary obligations, and to focus on the high-quality development of trusts to assist in the construction of a strong nation and to walk out of the road of trust development with Chinese characteristics.
Han Liang, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of Nankai University Law School and Director of Nankai University Capital Market Research Center, presided over the opening ceremony.
(Han Liang, Professor of Nankai University Law School, Doctoral Supervisor, Director of Nankai University Capital Market Research Center)
Mr. Liang Qi, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Nankai University, Mr. Song Hualin, Dean and Professor of the Law School of Nankai University and the 10th Outstanding Young Jurist of China, and Mr. Li Qiang, Chairman of the China Association of Trustees and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Foreign Trade of China, delivered the opening speeches.
During the keynote speeches, Mr. Gao Chuanjie, former Director of the Non-Banking Department of the CBRC, and Ms. He Jinxuan, Professor of Trust Law and Equity at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, delivered keynote speeches on the topic of “High-quality Development of Trusts for the Construction of a Stronger Nation”.
The seminar officially released the “Report on the High Quality Development of China's Trusts: Identifying Positioning, Transforming and Innovating, Providing Universal Services and Helping to Build a Stronger Country” (the “Report”). Li Qiang, President of China Trust Association and Chairman of Foreign Trade Trust of China, Gao Chuanjie, former Director of Non-Banking Department of CBRC, Cai Gaoyuan, Chief Economist of China Trust Association and Chairman of Charitable Trust Committee of China Charity Federation, Weimun Meng, General Manager of Foreign Trade Trust of China, Xiao Shuwei, Secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing King&Capital Law Firm and Senior Partner of Beijing Law Firm, and Han Liang, Professor of the Law School of Nankai University, jointly launched the release ceremony of the Report. The release ceremony of the Report was launched by Mr. Han Liang, Professor of Nankai University Law School. Afterwards, Ms. Wei Mengmeng explained the highlights of the report.
(From left to right, Han Liang, Xiao Shuwei, Gao Chuanjie, Li Qiang, Cai Zhaoyuan, and Wei Mengmeng at the launch ceremony of China Trust High Quality Development Report.)
The first part of the afternoon keynote speeches of the seminar was themed as “International Trust Legislation Dynamics and China's Trust Law Revision Suggestions”, which was moderated by Mr. Han Liang, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor of the Law School of Nankai University and Director of the Capital Market Research Center of Nankai University, and led by Mr. Shen Wei, Keh Yuan Special Professor of the Keeh Yuan School of Law of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Doctoral Supervisor of the University of Tokyo. Chairman of the Trust Law Association, Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo Law School, and Professor of the Gakushuin University Law School, Yuki Kanzaku; Chairman of the Macau Financial Law Society and Associate Professor of the Macau University of Science and Technology Law School, J.W. Bi; and Professor of the School of Law of Beijing Jiaotong University, Li Wenhua, shared their views.
The second part of the afternoon keynote speeches of the seminar was themed as “Independence of Trust Property and Trust Registration, Trust Tax System and Other Supporting Mechanisms”, which was chaired by Mr. Cai Gao, Chief Economist of China Association of Trustees and Chairman of Charitable Trust Committee of China Charity Federation, and co-director of the Center for Financial and Legal Research of Tsinghua University School of Law, Zhou Xiaoming, expert director of China Trust Industry Association, Han Liang, professor and doctoral supervisor of Nankai University Law School and director of Nankai University Capital Market Research Center, Gao Huiyun, senior tax law consultant of King&Capital Law Firm and executive director of Family Trust Legal Affairs Center, and Qin Jiangwei, general counsel and chief risk control officer of Foreign Trade Trust of China, shared their views.
(Han Liang, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Nankai University Law School, Director of Nankai University Capital Market Research Center)
Han Liang, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of Nankai University Law School and Director of Nankai University Capital Market Research Center, gave a speech titled “Functionalist Positioning and Institutional Construction of China's Trust Registration”, in which he introduced the trust registration systems of the common law system and the civil law system, as well as the dilemmas faced by China's trust registration system. On this basis, Han Liang pointed out that the essence of trust registration is the registration of trust legal relationship, which should be guided by “functionalism”, separating the trust registration and the registration of the change of property right of trust property, and establishing a system with clear responsibilities and division of labor from the functions of guaranteeing the validity of the establishment of trusts, demonstrating the independence of the trust property, and providing the basic classified registration service for the supervision of the trusts and the settlement of the disputes. Starting from the function of safeguarding the validity of trust establishment, demonstrating the independence of trust property, and providing basic classification registration services for trust supervision and dispute resolution, a unified national trust registration system with clear responsibilities and reasonable division of labor was established.
(Gao Huiyun, Senior Tax Law Advisor and Executive Director of Family Trust Legal Affairs Center, Beijing King&Capital Law Firm)
Gao Huiyun, Senior Tax Law Consultant of Beijing King&Capital Law Firm and Executive Director of Family Trust Legal Affairs Center, delivered a speech on the topic of “Research on Trust Tax Collection and Administration Measures in Complementary Regulations of Trust Law”. Gao Huiyun pointed out that the trust tax system has become a legal obstacle to China's trust registration system. In the process of trust establishment and termination, the principle of non-taxation of form transfer should be insisted on, and the provisions of special account and accounting treatment of trust property should be increased; in the process of trust operation, it is appropriate to regard the trust as an independent consortium or fund, and the trust should be taxed individually and the trustee should fulfill the obligation of withholding and paying on behalf of the trustee. In addition, a tax trust tax administration method can be set up to unify the tax rules related to trusts, so as to avoid cumbersome amendments to the tax bill and improve the efficiency of the legislation.
During the roundtable discussion, Mr. Li Nan, Vice President and Partner of JWS Family Office, acted as the moderator and discussed with the roundtable guests on the “Interface between Trust Law and Charity Law and Innovative Practices of Charitable Trusts”. Mr. Cai Gao, Chief Economist of China Trust Association and Chairman of Charitable Trust Committee of China Charity Federation, Mr. Xu Xiaoning, General Manager of Wealth Management Center of China Foreign Trade Trust, Mr. Wang Hong, Deputy General Manager of Private Banking Department of China Construction Bank Shandong Branch, and Mr. Zhang Jian, Secretary General of National Wealth Management Center of DEH, and Executive Director of Hangzhou Family Wealth Management and Legal Center of DEH participated in the discussion. Finally, Zhang Xiaotao, winner of Jiang Ping Scholarship and part-time tutor of Peking University Law School, made a summary of the seminar.
June 30 Session A: “Asset Servicing Trusts” Forum
In the “Asset Service Trust” forum, the topics were centered on “High-quality Development of Universal Wealth Management Services”, “Building Wealth Ecosystem and Promoting Service Innovation”, and “Innovative Models of New Asset Service Trusts”. The keynote speeches and roundtable discussions will be held in the three parts of the “Asset Service Trust” forum, which are centered on “Benefiting the High Quality Development of Wealth Management Services”, “Building Wealth Ecology, Promoting Service Innovation” and “Prospect of Innovative Models of New Asset Service Trusts”.
(Pei Fei, Partner, Beijing King&Capital Law Firm)
The first part of “High Quality Development of Universal Wealth Management Services” was moderated by Pei Fei, Partner of Beijing King&Capital Law Firm, who said that after yesterday's seminar, everyone had gained a lot, and today we will continue to explore the high-quality development of universal wealth management services. Wealth planning and management, the new middle class not only has a similar family structure, wealth planning needs also have obvious convergence, how to avoid wealth risks, in the realization of sound wealth accumulation and value-added at the same time, taking into account the different families and different family members of the multi-level needs of the high-quality development of inclusive wealth management services should be the title of the intention.
Mr. Jin Yi, member of the management committee and compliance officer of Taikang Insurance Group and director of Taikang Legal Service Center, Mr. Wang Dawei, deputy general manager of Foreign Trade Trust of China, Mr. He Wei, general manager of Wealth Division of Societe Generale International Trust, and Mr. Wen Xiaodong, former professor of Tohoku University Faculty of Law and now professor of Tianjin University Faculty of Law, shared their views on the topic of the seminar respectively.
The second part of “Roundtable Discussion: Building Wealth Ecosystem and Promoting Service Innovation” was moderated by Mr. Nie Junfeng, Chairman of King&Capital Family Office, who discussed the topic with the roundtable guests, including Mr. Chen Qiao, Head of Entrepreneurs' Office of CITIC Trust, Mr. He Jinyu, General Manager of Wealth Center of China Prudential Trust, Mr. Wu Haibo, General Manager of Family Office of COFCO Trust, and Mr. Teng Jie, Partner of King&Capital Law Firm. Teng Jie, a partner of Beijing Kyoto Law Firm, started the discussion. Teng Jie pointed out that the internal qualities needed for family offices are not only limited to legal qualities, but also extend to accounting qualities, financial qualities and even humanistic qualities.
(From left to right: Nie Junfeng, Chen Qiao, He Jinyu, Wu Haibo, Teng Jie)
The third part of the speech was on the theme of “Prospect of Innovative Models of New Asset Servicing Trusts”, which was moderated by Fei Fei Tao, Chief Strategy Officer of FTCT. Mr. Wang Zhangyue, General Manager of Special Assets Service Trust Department of FTCT, Mr. Zhang Kun, Deputy General Manager of Suzhou Trust Service Trust Department, and Mr. Jia Lin, General Manager of Legal Affairs Department of Northern International Trust delivered keynote speeches.
The closing ceremony of Seminar A was summarized by Tao Fei Fei, Chief Strategy Officer of China Foreign Trade Trust, with more than 200 participants and 48 speakers, including 33 trust companies, more than 15 banks and insurance institutions, and more than 10 universities and research institutes from home and abroad. Seminar gathered industry, academia, research all walks of life, not only groveling into the game, but also groveling cultivator, it is because of every trustee, we are in order to trust the system of universal, the characteristics of the industry transformation in the struggle.
June 30 Session B: “Asset Management Trusts and Trustee Liability” Forum
In the “Asset Management Trusts and Trustees‘ Liability” forum, the discussion centered on “Characteristic Development of Asset Management Trusts”, “How Trusts Can Better Serve the Five Articles” and “Trustees’ Legal Liability”. Keynote speeches and round-table discussions were held in three parts, namely, “Development of Asset Management Trusts with Characteristics”, “How Trusts Can Better Serve the Five Major Articles”, and “Seminar on Trustees' Legal Liability and Practice of Fulfillment of Their Duties”.
(Teng Jie, Partner, Beijing King&Capital Law Firm)
The first part of “Characterized Development of Asset Management Trust” was moderated by Teng Jie, Partner of Beijing King&Capital Law Firm, who said that in the course of development of the trust industry, it has gone through the process from non-target financing to the transformation and development, and after the introduction of the new regulations, the business of asset management trust has been constantly pushed forward to create new modes. However, the innovation of trust business also brings challenges and problems. As a trust industry participant, researcher and promoter, we need to look at the development of asset management trust from different perspectives and find differentiated positioning.
Mr. Ye Lijian, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Trust, Mr. Chen Quan, Director of Equity Investment Business of Jianxin Trust and General Manager of Jianxin Beijing, Mr. Xiao Dongxue, Deputy General Manager of Jiangsu Trust, and Mr. Kong Yan, General Manager of Subject Matter Investment Department of FTIT China, delivered keynote speeches.
The second part of the “roundtable discussion: how to better serve the five articles” link, by China foreign trade trust wealth management center general manager Xu Xiaoning as moderator, with roundtable guests former CBRC non-banking department director Gao Chuanjie, love Jian trust general manager assistant Xu KuiJun, Nankai University law school professor, doctoral tutor, civil and commercial law department director Zhang Hongbo, Xingyi carbon investment department general manager Kong Yan made a speech. Mr. Zhang Hongbo, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Civil and Commercial Law Department, Nankai University Law School, and Mr. Yin Chunzhe, Senior Green Finance Researcher, Industrial Carbon Financial Research Institute, will start the discussion.
The third part, “Legal Liability of Trustees and Practical Seminar on Duty Compliance”, was moderated by Mr. Park Gao Yuan, Deputy Director of the Capital Market Research Center of Nankai University, who mentioned that, in recent years, the transformation of China's trust industry has achieved remarkable results, but a large number of legal disputes and controversies have arisen in this process. Among them, the liability of trustees is undoubtedly one of the core issues, and regulators and academics have paid great attention to the regulatory legal issues concerning the legal liability of trustees and the fulfillment of their duties and responsibilities.
Li Xianming, senior judge in the trial of cases in the trust field and senior partner of Jintiancheng Law Firm, Wang Qichang, associate professor of the School of Financial Management of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Zhao Lianhui, professor of the School of Civil, Commercial and Economic Law of China University of Political Science and Law, and XI Yuemin, director of the Economic Law Office of the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, researcher, and doctoral supervisor, shared their views on the topic.
(Park Gao Yuan, Deputy Director of Capital Market Research Center, Nankai University)
At the end of the meeting, Prof. Han Liang briefly summarized the agenda of the two-day meeting, thanked the speakers for bringing flashes of wisdom to the seminar, and also expressed his sincere thanks to all the participants on behalf of the organizers of this event. The conference was successfully closed with warm applause from the participants.
