China's first court dedicated to handling bankruptcy cases, Shenzhen Bankruptcy Court, was established on Jan 14. It is expected to not only create a better business environment by providing high quality judicial services, but also help guarantee the healthy development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

According to Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, the new bankruptcy court is Shenzhen's third specialized court, after Shenzhen Intellectual Property Court and Shenzhen Finance Court. It took just one month to establish Shenzhen Bankruptcy Court once it was approved by the Supreme People's Court.

Shenzhen has taken the lead in exploring the judicial practice for bankruptcy cases for years. Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court established a bankruptcy judicial tribunal on Dec 1, 1993.

In recent years, Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court has handled one-third of all bankruptcy cases in Guangdong province and about 5 percent of the total in China. Since June 1, 2007, when China's Enterprises Bankruptcy Law took effect until 2018, Shenzhen's courts have received 1,785 bankruptcy applications, accepted and tried 1,151 cases and concluded 779 cases, clearing up debts totaling 142.2 billion yuan ($21 billion).