This 28-chapter volume brings together academics and practitioners to provide a comprehensive legal, economic and political analysis of the Belt and Road (BRI) initiative that has emerged since 2013 as a key feature of Chinaâs international economic policy. It offers a fundamentally novel approach towards international trade, investment and global governance in an unsettled time of shifting geopolitics when many institutions developed in the West are being called into question. The book covers a broad range of BRI-related international economic law and policy issues, including trade facilitation and connectivity, economics and geopolitics of new trade routes, foreign direct investment law, bilateral investment treaties, free trade agreements, financing of infrastructure, development aid, international dispute resolution, and regional economic integration.
Julien Chaisse, Ph.D. (2008), is Professor of Law at City University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Advisory Board Member, Asian Academy of International Law (AAIL). His publications include China's International Investment Strategy (Oxford University Press, 2019), International Investment Treaties and Arbitration Across Asia (Brill/Nijhoff, 2017) and International Economic Law and Governance (Oxford University Press, 2016).
JÄdrzej Górski, Ph.D. (2016) is a research fellow and Ph.D. candidate in international relations at the City University of Hong Kong. Formerly research associate at UCL Australia (2017), Endeavour Research Fellow at MLS (2014) and associate at CMS (2010-2012).
"This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand the Belt and Road Initiative and how it will define law, economics, and politics in the years to come." - Patrick W. Pearsall, Fmr. Chief of Investment Arbitration, United States of America
"This is a big book on a very big subject. The editors have assembled informative and cogent essays on four broad aspects of the BRI. They are: the geopolitical dynamics that shape the BRI; the thrust of outward investment from China through the BRI; the facilitation of international trade in the BRI region; and the emerging mechanisms for dispute resolution and commercial mediation. Half of the chapters were published previously and deserve wider spread, and half are written new for this book. [..] Even discounting for inevitable hype about the BRI, this signature global initiative by China will likely be a very consequential feature of the emerging global economic system in the 21st century. If you want to get your mind around this massive project, this is the book you need to have in your hand. Highly recommend." - Glenn Shive Ph.D, Executive Director, Hong Kong America Center
List of Abbreviations List of Figures and Tables Notes on Contributors
1Introduction
âJulien Chaisse and JÄdrzej Górski
Part 1: The Foundations of the Belt and Road Initiative
Part 2: Towards the Expansion of Chinese Outward Investment
9What is One Belt One Road? A Surplus Recycling Mechanism Approach
âUsman W. Chohan
10The International Investment Agreement Network under the âBelt and Roadâ Initiative
âAnna Chuwen Dai
11Paving the Silk Road bit by bit: An Analysis of Investment Protection for Chinese Infrastructure \ Projects under the Belt & Road Initiative
âLAI Huaxia and Gabriel M. Lentner
12The Role of Chinese State-Owned Investors and obor-Related Investments in Europe: The Implication of the China-EU bit
âYIN Wei
13National Security Review of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (âfdiâ) into the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (âgccâ): Challenges and Opportunities
âBashar H. Malkawi and Joel Slawotsky
14A Domestic National Controls a Foreign Investor in Investment Arbitration: In Light of Chinaâs Negative Lists
âZHANG Anran
Part 3: The International Trade Issues of the bri
15âUnimpeded Tradeâ in Central Asia â A Trade Facilitation Challenge
âJoanne Waters
16One Belt, One Road Initiative into a New Regional Trade Agreement: Implication to the wto Dispute Settlement System
âSungjin Kang
17bri Initiative: A New Model of Development Aid?
âTymoteusz Chajdas
18Turning doors â Piracy, Technology and Maritime security along the Maritime Silk Road
âHelen Tung
19Infrastructure Investments: Port, Rail, and International Economic Rules
âKarlok Carlos Li and Julien Chaisse
20Development Banks as Environmental Governance Actors: The aiibâs Power to Promote Green Growth
âFlavia Marisi
21Stakes and Prospects of the Right to Free, Prior & Informed Consent in âOne Belt One Roadâ Projects in the Context of Transnational Investment Law and Arbitration
âAnna Aseeva and YIP Ka Lok
22Central and Eastern Europe, Group 16+1 and One Belt One Road: The Case of 2016 Sino-Polish Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
âJÄdrzej Górski
Part 4: bri Dispute Resolution: Directions for the Future
23Some Considerations on the Civil, Commercial and Investment Dispute Settlement Mechanisms between China and the Other Belt and Road Countries
âZHU Weidong
24International Commercial Mediation, an Opportunity for obor
âGiovanni Matteucci
25Energy Dispute Settlement and the One Belt One Road Initiative (âoborâ)
âMA Sai
26The Energy Charter Treaty and Central Asia: Setting an International Standard for Energy-Related Disputes
âMaria Bun
27Central Asian Investment Arbitration and obor â Learning from the Current Investment Climate
âMariel Dimsey
28Chinaâs Maritime Silk Road and the Future of African Arbitration
âAweis Osman
Index
Academics in law, Asian studies, international relations, political economy; postgraduate students; policy-makers in national bodies, international organisations and NGOs; and legal practitioners.