The ASEAN-China Investment Agreement: A regionalization of China??s BITs |
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Authors: | Jun Xiao |
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Institution: | 1. Institute of International Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
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Abstract: | This paper analyzes the provisions of the Agreement on Investment of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation
between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (the “ASEAN”), especially those on the scope of application,
national treatment, Most Favored Nation (MFN) treatment, expropriation, and investor-state dispute resolution. The paper then
compares the new agreement with other international investment agreements concluded by China or ASEAN. In comparison with
existing Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) between China and individual ASEAN member states, there are significant changes
in the Investment Agreement which provides a higher standard of investment protection. Such an investment protection is common
in the new generation of Chinese BITs, which were signed by China since 2000. However, unlike some other investment agreements
in free trade arrangements, the Investment Agreement rarely touches upon the investment liberalization, although the Framework
Agreement of ASEAN-China FTA provides for creating a liberal investment regime. This paper concludes that negotiating an investment
agreement in China’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) is regarded as an opportunity to update its old BITs, but China is not yet
prepared to undertake investment liberalization in its FTAs. The ASEAN-China Investment Agreement is, rather, an extension
of China’s BITs at the regional level, which is a demonstration of China’s growing influence at this level. |
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