BEIJING - The Supreme People's Court (SPC) is improving mediation services by preventing and resolving social disputes via an online mediation platform.

The platform combines court and social resources for mediation, and the combination of traditional and online methods will improve flexibility and efficiency, according to Jiang Qibo, head of the SPC case filing tribunal.

The SPC will instruct courts to enrich their mediation resources, improve their mediator database and data analysis, thereby improving mediation resource allocation.

A mobile app is available for download on the platform's website.

China uses a "people's mediation" method to resolve disputes outside judicial proceedings.

The 2010 Law on Mediation established people's mediation committees in villages, urban communities, businesses and public institutions. Administrative and judicial mediation are also used to handle disputes.

In October 2017, China started piloting lawyer mediation in nine provinces and two municipalities to resolve civil and business conflicts.