The Hague Conference has announced that China has signed the Choice of Court Agreement Convention. It joins the European Union, Mexico, Singapore, Ukraine, and the United States as signatory. To date, the EU, Mexico, and Singapore have ratified or acceded to the Convention, and the Convention is in effect between them.

China’s signing is a hopeful sign, particularly in light of a Chinese court’s recent decision recognizing a US commercial judgment. In my post on the Chinese recognition decision, I suggested that liberal US practice on judicial assistance might have borne some fruit in encouraging the Chinese decision. Now I wonder if this can work in the other direction. Can China’s decision to sign the Convention encourage us to overcome the Byzantine politics that have so far prevented the Senate from considering the treaty.