Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu said the body's status would be comparable to that of the UN International Court of Justice.

The Chinese government has signed a convention to establish an international mediation organization based in Hong Kong, and Beijing hopes it will become the world's leading conflict resolution body with the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

On Friday, a convention established by the International Mediation Organization (IOMED) was signed into law at a ceremony presided over by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Hong Kong.

Representatives from several countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia and Serbia attended the ceremony. According to Hong Kong RTHK Public Broadcasting Corporation, representatives from 20 international organizations, including the United Nations, also attended the ceremony.

The video shown at the signing ceremony said that the scope of cases handled by the human body would include disputes between countries, between another country and nationals, and between private international entities.

Beijing plans to consolidate Hong Kong's presence as the world's top mediation hub as it hopes to strengthen the city's declining international qualifications.

In an unspoken view published in the China state-run Global Times newspaper, Iomed is described as "the world's first inter-world international legal organization dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation."

IOMED will fill “a significant gap in the mechanisms focused on mediation-based dispute resolution”.

It added: “The establishment of the International Mediation Organization marks a milestone in global governance and emphasizes the value of conflict resolution in a “friendly way”.”

The International Court of Justice - the main judicial body of the United Nations, also known as the World Court - is currently the highest body to resolve legal disputes between member states under international law. It also provided advisory comments on legal issues raised by United Nations agencies.

Hong Kong CEO John Lee Ka-chiu said this week that Iomed's identity will be comparable to the institutions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Lee said this will also help bring "substantial" economic benefits and job opportunities, and stimulate various sectors, including hospitality and transportation, to Hong Kong.

Since 1997, a year and a half as a British colony, Hong Kong has experienced continued economic stagnation, shifting it to Chinese rule since 1997.

Investor confidence is shocked by Beijing's increasing control over every aspect of life in every aspect of territory, including the economy, and depression continues to recover from the post-pandemic situation in China.

In an article published in the Southern Morning Post, Hong Kong Attorney General Paul Lam Lam said Iomed will help Hong Kong deal with challenges faced by "hostile external forces" that are "trying to cancel the establishment and defunctionalization."

To address this challenge, Hong Kong needs to make full use of Iomed headquarters in order to focus cities as the center of international dispute settlement in order to fully utilize its institutional advantages under the framework of “one country, two systems”. ”

The Iomed headquarters will open at the end of this year or early 2026 and will be located in the former police station in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong.