International Investment and Dispute Settlement Understanding the China–European Union Comprehensive Agreement on Investment The Rule of Law in China and Comparative Perspectives Series

This book analyzes the dispute settlement mechanisms under the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), including the already established mechanisms for general state-to-state dispute settlement and the Mechanism to Address Differences for investment and sustainable development issues.

When China and the EU, two of the biggest players in international investment, announced the completion of the China-European Union CAI negotiations, the dispute settlement system remained incomplete. While they reached an agreement on state-to-state dispute settlement, the controversial investor-state dispute settlement is subject to ongoing negotiations. This book explores the possible procedural design of investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms under the EU-China CAI, including potential proposals, issues, and solutions. In addition, this work analyzes the separation, connection, and combination of state-to-state and investor-state dispute settlement, all with a mind to ensuring the function and operation of diverse mechanisms and establishing a comprehensive system for successful investment dispute settlement.

Focusing on the complete dispute settlement system under the EU-China CAI, this book will be a valuable resource for students, academics, and policymakers working in the areas of international dispute resolution, international investment law, international economic law, and comparative law.

1. Introduction: China, the EU, the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, and International Investment Dispute Settlement 2. Analyzing the State-to-State Dispute Settlement System in the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment 3. Analyzing the Mechanism to Address Differences under the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment 4. The Basis for Prospecting the Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanism in the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment 5. The Prospective Investor-State Dispute Settlement under the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment 6. Towards a Comprehensive Dispute Settlement System under the EU-China CAI 7. Conclusion

Chunlei Zhao is a researcher at the Institute for International Dispute Settlement at Tsinghua University, China. She received her PhD from Maastricht University, the Netherlands in 2020. Her research focuses on international trade and investment law and international dispute resolution. She was a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European, and Regulatory Procedural Law and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. She has internship experience at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). She is also a practising lawyer in mainland China.