The head of China's top tribunal called for improving judicial functions to better safeguard the coordinated development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt on Dec 18 in Beijing.

Zhou Qiang (front left) , chief justice and president of the Supreme People's Court of China, shakes hands with Xu Shaoshi (front right), minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, after signing a framework agreement on Dec 18 in Beijing. [Photo by Sun Ruofeng/People's Court Daily]

Zhou Qiang, chief justice and president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China, made the remarks when attending a cross-sector meeting, which was part of the implementation of the just-concluded Central Economic Work Conference.

According to the three-day conference, which ended on Dec 16, three initiatives -- the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (or Jing-jin-ji), the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Belt and Road Initiative -- should be further implemented.

On Dec 18, a legal cooperation and collaborative mechanism framework agreement was signed between the SPC and the Yangtze River Economic Belt Leading Group Office.

Zhou said that courts at various levels in China should strengthen research into the economic belt and develop guiding principles and judicial interpretations in a timely manner.

Efficiency and performance of judicial practices must be improved to better safeguard the development of the economic belt, demanded Zhou.

Similarly, institutional mechanism reform in the judicial sector should also be deepened, said Zhou, calling for better coordination between local courts and maritime courts.

Xu Shaoshi, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, also addressed the meeting, calling for closer cooperation with the SPC for better development of the economic belt.