The Ministry of Justice officially launched a national online platform on Saturday to provide foreign-related legal services to Chinese companies and citizens operating overseas, aiming to strengthen legal support for those engaged in cross-border activities.

The platform, known as Fatong, began trial operations on July 1 and was jointly developed by the Ministry of Justice, local judicial authorities, universities and enterprises, Vice-Minister of Justice Wu Yanjun said at a news conference.

Wu said the platform is designed to better meet the practical legal needs of Chinese companies and citizens conducting business or other activities overseas by bringing legal information, professional service resources and intelligent consultation tools together in one place.

It currently offers 10 major functions, including access to Chinese translations of laws and regulations in major economies, country and regional legal guides, typical cases involving foreign-related legal services, and information on legal service institutions and professionals.

The platform also features intelligent search and personalized legal consultation services to help companies and individuals assess and address legal risks before and during their overseas operations, Wu said.

Zheng Wei, deputy director of the ministry's bureau of foreign-related rule of law, said users can access the platform through desktop and mobile browsers or a WeChat mini-program.

The platform has collected more than 1,800 Chinese laws, regulations and rules related to foreign affairs, as well as about 1,500 legal resources covering 187 countries. These include Chinese translations of 976 foreign laws, 512 country and regional legal guides, and 140 typical cases, providing an integrated pool of resources for foreign-related legal services, Zheng said.

To address users' practical legal questions, the platform offers two main consultation channels. The first is Faxiaotong, an AI-powered assistant that generates responses based on resources available on the platform and provides references to help users resolve legal issues.

The second is the Fatong consultation service, through which professional teams review questions submitted by users and provide reference opinions. Selected high-quality questions and answers will also be published on the platform to benefit a wider audience.

The platform will also support companies in developing in-house legal teams to handle overseas business. Training videos for corporate legal officers have already been uploaded, and additional online and offline training programs will be introduced to strengthen companies' capacity to manage cross-border legal matters, the ministry said.

Zheng said the platform would continue to expand its resources in areas with strong demand, particularly investment, trade and labor services, while prioritizing countries and regions of particular relevance to Chinese companies operating overseas.

The ministry also plans to improve the quality and timeliness of existing materials, strengthen reviews of newly added legal resources, and keep information on laws, legal guides, service institutions and practitioners up to date.

Further upgrades will focus on improving user experience. A mobile app is expected to be launched soon, while the website's design, search functions and service layout will be optimized based on user feedback.

The ministry will also strengthen its professional consultation teams, standardize response procedures and improve the accuracy and practical value of legal advice.

Meanwhile, additional computing resources and training will be provided to improve the AI assistant's performance and enable it to respond to legal questions more quickly, Zheng said.