The Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC) is an international arbitration institution established in accordance with the law of the Hong Kong SAR in 1985 by leading figures from the business community and professionals in the Hong Kong SAR.

In 1993, then-chairman of HKIAC, Neil Kaplan, visited the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. Since then, the collaboration and interaction between the SCIA and HKIAC have become increasingly frequent.

Neil Kaplan, then Secretary-General of HKIAC, Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, visited the SCIA in in 1993. 

The SCIA hosted a series of events, including the "Evidence Law and Practice" seminar in September 2004, the "International Arbitration Involving PRC Parties" seminar in April 2010, the International Arbitration Practice Seminar in December 2015, the "How Chinese Companies Arbitrate in Hong Kong SAR" workshop in February 2017, the "In-depth Analysis of Arbitration Preservation Arrangements Seminar" in May 2018. It co-hosted thematic events with Women In Arbitration (WIA) in December 2021, the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong Maritime Arbitration Summit" and "International Arbitration Training Program (SCIA IATP) for Elite Lawyers" in November 2022. Secretary-general and representatives of HKIAC attended these events and delivered speeches.

On July 2, 2019, the SCIA and HKIAC cooperated to hold an arbitration rules seminar and the "Closer Cooperation Agreement" signing ceremony. With over 100 legal and business professionals from home and abroad witnessing, the SCIA and HKIAC jointly signed the "Closer Cooperation Agreement".

The SCIA and HKIAC co-organized a seminar on arbitration rules and the signing ceremony of the "Closer Cooperation Agreement" on July 2 2019. Opening speeches were delivered by Liu Xiaochun, President of the SCIA and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SCIAHK and Sarah Grimmer, secretary-general of HKIAC at the time. 

In February 2023, Liu Xiaochun, president of the SCIA, and Mariel Dimsey, then secretary-general of HKIAC, met to deeply discuss the more than 30 years of cooperation history and the development trend of international arbitration, jointly looking forward to new opportunities for the development of "Shenzhen + Hong Kong" international arbitration. The SCIA and the SCIAHK also jointly participated in the 18th Arbitration Tribunal Secretary Training hosted by HKIAC in May 2023, exchanging and learning to cultivate talent for cross-border dispute resolution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Liu Xiaochun, President of the SCIA and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SCIAHK, and Mariel Dimsey, then Secretary-General of HKIAC, posed for a photo in February 2023.

On 9 May 2024, SCIA and SCIAHK, together with the Department of Justice of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR and HKIAC, organized the XXVIth Congress of International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA Congress) 2024 Hong Kong Shenzhen Side event at the SCIA Tower in Qianhai, Shenzhen. The Secretary-General of HKIAC, Joanne Lau, gave an opening speech at the event, and the SCIA and HKIAC jointly presented the latest development of international arbitration in China to nearly 300 professionals from 36 countries and regions, including Germany, UK, Switzerland, Russia, Belgium, Finland, New Zealand and the US.

Opening speech delivered by Joanne Lau, the Secretary-General of HKIAC.

The HKIAC also deeply participated in the SCIA's annual event, "South China Business & Law Forum". In 2018, it jointly hosted the 8th forum with the SCIA. In 2021, at the 11th forum, Rimsky Yuen, council member of the SCIA and co-chairperson of the HKIAC, delivered a speech. Dr. Yang Ling, deputy secretary-general of the HKIAC, delivered a keynote speech. The HKIAC focused on the topical, challenging, and focal issues faced by Chinese enterprises in that year, and through the forum platform provided by the SCIA, exchanged and discussed with other arbitration institutions, judicial institutions, business communities, legal communities, and academic circles in the Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Chinese mainland.