The first comprehensive study of China's role in international dispute resolution in the context of the 'Belt and Road Initiative'.

The concept of the One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR) was raised by the President of the People’s Republic of China in October 2013. The OBOR comprises the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ and the ‘21st Century Maritime Silk Road’, encompassing over 60 countries from Asia to Europe via Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, and the Middle East. The overall objective of the OBOR is to encourage the economic prosperity of the countries along the Belt and Road and regional economic cooperation, encourage mutual learning between different civilizations, and promoting peace and development. However, countries along the Belt and Road routes of the OBOR project have diverse laws and legal systems. It is not difficult to envisage problems relating to harmonisation of laws and rules in trade between countries along the OBOR routes or otherwise. These problems can potentially cut through the core of the very objective of the OBOR itself. Integration in China’s One Belt One Road Initiative explores possible challenges to the success of the OBOR arising from the situational interface of diversity of laws, with the focus primarily on issues associated with private international law. It shows the latest state of knowledge on the topic and will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students interested in private international law issues pertaining to the OBOR routes as well as private international law in general, Asian studies, and the politics of international trade.

This book examines resolution of the disputes between both sides of Belt and Road economic cooperation. To address the problems surrounding legal guarantee and dispute resolution, the International Academy of the Belt and Road has gathered almost 50 experts from over 30 Belt and Road countries and regions to utilize current advances in the dispute resolution mechanism, taking into account the legal systems, legal environment and historical and cultural characteristics of Belt and Road countries and regions. The dispute resolution mechanism presented advocates giving priority to mediation when a dispute arises—arbitration is necessary only when mediation is ineffective. In addition, arbitration should be highly transparent, show respect to both contracting parties, and be equipped with an appeal system. This hands-on book offers detailed explanations of mediation rules, arbitration rules and appeal procedures. On the one hand, this mechanism embodies the integration of the cultures, traditions, legal systems, legal values and legal thoughts of Belt and Road countries and regions. On the other hand, it highlights the importance of mediation, which not only is the idea of oriental culture carrying forward traditional Chinese culture, but also follows the trend of dispute resolution. As a result, the dispute resolution mechanism established in this book is beneficial to the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

This forward-looking book examines dispute resolution issues in the context of Belt and Road Initiative dealings between parties in ASEAN Member States, China and other trade partners. It discusses a range of commercial dispute issues and economic agreements including free trade agreements and investment agreements, both bilateral and regional.

International Arbitration Law Library Volume 59 The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives not only to improve support for international commercial arbitration (ICA) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Focusing on these initiatives and their accompanying case law and trends in the Asia-Pacific region, this invaluable book challenges existing procedures and frameworks for cross-border dispute resolution in both commercial and treaty arbitration. Specially assembled for this project, an outstanding team of experienced and insightful arbitrators and scholars describes pertinent developments including: ICA and ISDS in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; the Singapore Convention on Mediation; the shift to virtual hearings and other challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic; mistrust of the application of the rule of law in certain East Asian jurisdictions; growing public concern over ISDS arbitration; tensions between confidentiality and transparency; and potential regional harmonisation of the public policy exception to arbitral enforcement. The contributors chart evolving practices and high-profile cases to make informed observations about where changes are needed, as well as educated guesses about the chances of reforms being successful and the consequences if they are not. The main jurisdictions covered are China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, Australia and Singapore. The first in-depth study of recent trends in dispute resolution practice related to business in the Asia-Pacific region, the book’s practical analysis of new resources for dealing with the increasing competition among countries to become credible regional dispute resolution hubs will prove to be of great value to specialists in the international business law sector. Lawyers will be enabled to make informed decisions on which venue and dispute resolution methods are the most suitable for any specific dispute in the region, and policymakers will confidently assess emerging trends in international dispute resolution policy development and treaty-making.

China's ever-expanding commercial influence has attracted global attention on how its civil and commercial disputes are resolved. This compelling new book, Dispute Resolution in China, offers a detailed examination of the elements in the Chinese legal system and the relevant reforms to the multiplicity of approaches to civil and commercial disputes in China today. This book reveals how civil litigation, commercial arbitration, mediation, and their hybrid dispute resolution have distinctly responded to, reformed, and developed in the context of China’s transformational economic growth, societal development, and international interaction in the last two decades. It situates these developments and continued experimentation within a unique hybrid of empirical, contextual, and comparative analytical framework, while paving productive pathways towards the future. This book argues that, rather than being a legal project, China’s civil and commercial dispute resolution system is essentially a social development project, which distinguishes the Chinese approach to civil justice reform from contemporary civil justice movements elsewhere. Among the primary methods of dispute resolution, commercial arbitration in China today uniquely transcending the traditional socio-political constraints, its reform has developed in favor of market-oriented considerations and shaped by China’s socio-economic dynamics and internationalization needs. By contrast, civil litigation and mediation being more instrumentalist in nature, their reform is socio-politically embedded and continues to prioritize social stability. This book also shines a fresh light on comparative assessments of top-down and bottom-up changes in China’s dispute resolution discourse, as well as on how China speaks to international dispute resolution systems. Original and rich in its analysis, this book will be essential reading and invaluable reference tool for scholars with a focus on Chinese law, comparative and international dispute resolution, and on broader legal, institutional, economic, social, political and cultural dimensions of dispute resolution development.

This book is a follow-up to the comprehensive Managing Business Disputes in Today’s China: Duelling with Dragons (2007) guide on foreign direct investment disputes that can arise in the course of initiating and operating a Chinese joint venture. Since its inauguration by the Chinese government in 2013, the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) has included projects in more than 70 countries spanning diverse economic and legal environments. The nature of the BRI coupled with the economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will inevitably generate more challenges than ever. Like its predecessor, this book poses a hypothetical scenario in order to explore the potential issues that may arise from Chinese-foreign business relationships in the BRI context. After setting the scene with the ‘Afrina Government’s’ ill-fated infrastructure project involving Chinese and foreign parties, subsequent chapters provide comprehensive insight on and highlight the following issues that one must consider when dealing with BRI disputes: dispute settlement options; informal dispute settlement approaches; disputes involving Chinese State-Owned Enterprises; construction and project finance disputes; corruption and bribery; sanctions; environmental issues. This book will provide extensive guidance from seasoned practitioners on the legal and practical issues of disputes that arise from engaging with Chinese companies doing business outside China in the context of BRI projects.

This second volume of the AIIB Yearbook of International Law examines the role of international organizations in promoting effective dispute resolution. It is divided into five parts to reflect a series of overarching themes and relationships. Firstly, international arbitration’s effectiveness and affinity with multilateral institutions. Second, international organizations as proponents of the norms of dispute resolution. Third, the dispute resolution mandates of international organizations. Fourth, the role of dispute resolution and economic development. Together, this diversity of perspectives offers convincing evidence that effective dispute resolution is a precondition to successful economic development—and that international organizations have an essential role to play in promoting both. The fifth part presents the 2018 AIIB Law Lecture given by Georg Nolte, Chair of the International Law Commission, on the subject of ‘International Organizations in the Recent Work of the International Law Commission’ and the 2018 AIIB Legal Conference Report.

The IISS Strategic Dossier China’s Belt and Road Initiative provides a geopolitical and geo-economic assessment of President Xi Jinping’s flagship foreign-policy initiative. The dossier explores the Belt and Road Initiative’s role in China’s domestic industrial strategy and in the country’s growing influence around the world. It studies how Beijing’s ambitions, management and financing of the initiative have evolved since its launch in 2013. In addition, the volume reflects on the future of China’s initiative following the COVID-19 pandemic. The dossier is organised around a region by region assessment of what Beijing has sought to achieve in different countries and how the Belt and Road Initiative has played out over time. The volume examines recipient countries’ responses to the Belt and Road Initiative and how these have affected it. It also looks at responses from other global and regional powers to China’s economic activities around the world and offers thoughts on ways the West might better contend with Beijing’s geo-economic influence.

Provides a comprehensive global survey on multi-tier dispute resolution, examining its trends, its strengths and weaknesses, and the way forward.