With the stated aim of providing parties with effective and economical arbitration services, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) promulgated its Online Arbitration Rules in January 2009. The rules comprise six chapters and 55 articles. Under the rules, the tribunal will normally decide the dispute on the basis of evidence contained in the documents only. Where necessary, hearings may also be conducted by video conference or other electronic means of communication. All documents, circulars and materials concerning arbitrations may be delivered by the arbitration tribunal through electronic mail, electronic data exchange, fax and so on. Parties may also submit evidence to the tribunal in electronic form. In addition to the regular procedure, the rules also provide for a "summary" procedure and an "expedited" procedure, for disputes with a value under RMB1 million (approximately US$146,353) and RMB100,000 (approximately US$14,635) respectively. These procedures involve different time frames compared to the regular procedure, and allow for the speedier resolution of disputes.

The rules, which came into effect on 1 May 2009, are available in Chinese on the CIETAC website. CIETAC is one of the few arbitral institutions in the world to introduce specific online arbitration rules. Given the nature of the rules, it is likely that it will, at least initially, be more useful in resolving lower value and less complex disputes.