Open to piano trios, piano quartets and string quartets, the Chamber Music Division featured Trio Archai founded in Switzerland, winning the $20,000 first prize as well as a prize for the Best Performance of Beethoven Work.

Titled the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, the contest was founded by internationally acclaimed violinist and educator Alice Schoenfeld (1921-2019) in 2012. She, along with her sister, cellist Eleonore Schoenfeld (1925-2007), were among the earliest Western musicians to visit China after the reform and opening-up policy was launched.

The president and artistic director of the competition, violinist Xue Suli, studied under Alice Schoenfeld and brought the competition to Harbin in 2014. The competition has been a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions since 2018. The Harbin Modern Culture & Tourism Investment Group Co Ltd is the sponsor partner of this year's competition.