PRC Arbitration Law: Arbitration Agreements
PRC Arbitration Law: Arbitration Agreements
(These clauses are selected from China Arbitration Law and Its Interpretations authored by Robert Zhang and Steve Li, international arbitration attorneys registered in Shanghai, China.)
Article 16 An arbitration agreement may be an arbitration clause in a contract or an agreement for arbitration reached in any other written form before or after the occurrence of a dispute.
An arbitration agreement shall contain:
(1) a manifestation of mutual assent to refer to arbitration;
(2) the issues to be arbitrated; and
(3) the arbitration commission selected.
Article 17 An arbitration agreement shall be invalid if:
(1) the issues to be arbitrated agreed upon under the arbitration agreement are beyond the scope of arbitration specified by law;
(2) the arbitration agreement was entered into by a person without capacity or with limited capacity for civil acts; or
(3) the arbitration agreement was entered into by a party under duress by the other party.
Article 18 Where the issues to be arbitrated or an arbitration commission is not expressly specified in an arbitration agreement, the parties may reach a supplementary agreement, failing which the arbitration agreement shall be invalid.
Article 19 An arbitration agreement shall exist independently, and any alteration, cancellation, termination, or invalidity of a contract shall be without prejudice to the validity of its arbitration agreement.
An arbitral tribunal shall have the power to determine the validity of a contract.
Robert Zhang 
Steve Li 