On November 15, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) issued the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Jurisdiction of Foreign-related Civil and Commercial Cases (the "Provisions"), with effect on January 1, 2023.

According to the Provisions, grassroots courts have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases of first instance, unless otherwise stipulated by laws and judicial interpretations. It is also clarified that the intermediate courts have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases involving high amount in dispute, complicated cases, or cases filed by many persons as the litigant, and other foreign-related civil and commercial cases that have significant influence in their jurisdiction. The Provisions adopt the model in which jurisdiction criteria on the value of subject matter are grouped by region into two tiers. The intermediate courts in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, and Chongqing have jurisdiction over the foreign-related civil and commercial cases with the value of subject matter of CNY40 million or higher; and cases with the value of subject matter of CNY20 million or higher are included in the second tier. The Provisions also clarify that, the high courts have jurisdiction over first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases in which the value of subject matter of litigation is CNY5 billion or higher or other cases that have significant influence in the jurisdiction.

(Source: Supreme People's Court of China)