Beijing has approved the convention establishing the world’s first intergovernmental organisation on mediation in Hong Kong, while indicating it would not bring forth World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes to the new body.

Observers said on Friday the move was an indication of Beijing’s support for the WTO and that it would still bring other disputes to the new organisation.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency said the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress had approved the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation, which was signed in Hong Kong at the end of May.

At the same time, the country’s legislature declared that under Articles 25 and 29 of the convention, the government would not submit its disputes under the WTO to the new body.

The articles state that the new body shall not provide mediation services to jurisdictions that have made a declaration indicating disputes they would refuse to submit to the body, such as those concerning territorial sovereignty or maritime interests.

Lau Siu-kai of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank said Beijing had always underscored the centrality of the WTO in promoting international trade and resolving disputes that arose from it.