International Conference: China-EU Investment Rule-Making and the Future of International Investment Law
International investment rule-making is at a crossroad. One of the most striking developments in this respect is the emergence of developing countries, China being the most prominent example, with rising flows of outward foreign direct investment (FDI). As a result, China has a growing interest to support the global activities of its multinationals aiming at providing more legal security by concluding bilateral investment treaties (BIT) and free trade agreements with investment chapters with a large number of developing and industrialized countries. As rising economies like China are rethinking their international investment policies, traditional FDI exporters are having second thoughts too about the appropriateness of their policy setup in face of a rapidly changing global FDI regime and the increasing number of investor-state arbitration cases. One of the most outstanding reform projects in recent years has been initiated by the EU in the wake of the reform of the EU’s common commercial policy after the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1 December 2009. The reform of the common commercial policy resulted in a transfer of the member states’ competencies with respect to FDI to the EU level. Additionally to its exclusive competency to negotiate trade agreements, the European Commission today is also entitled to negotiate international investment rules. The above mentioned developments will culminate in the negotiation of an investment treaty between China and the EU which should replace the existing 26 member states’ BITs with China. Against this background, this conference brings together Chinese and European researchers and policy makers to discuss the substance and prospects of Sino-European investment treaty negotiations and its possible implications for the international investment regime at large.