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.

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.

China has a closer business relationship with Southeast Asian countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). To ensure tax certainty for the investment, it is necessary to establish an effective and efficient tax dispute resolution mechanism. The mutual agreement procedure (MAP) is the primary means, but it has its limitations, especially for countries in this region. Arbitration could be a powerful complementary to the MAP. China has established a new BRI Court-connected and Mediation Centre (Centre) that aims to resolve commercial disputes in this region. It seems like a new alternative for resolving tax disputes since it combines mediation with arbitration. This article analyzes the pros and cons of adopting arbitration as a complementary means to the MAP in this region. It further discusses the advantages and concerns for the Centre. Although the Centre encourages using mediation to resolve disputes, which could address problems of direct arbitration, it is difficult to maintain impartiality from its current rough rules and its position. This article makes suggestions on improving the mechanism to guarantee the impartiality by selecting mediators and arbitrators with knowledge of the region, endowing disputants the right to appeal, and increasing transparency.

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.

The reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is a subject of ongoing debate in international institutions, yet an ASEAN perspective on the subject has been largely absent to date. This book addresses that gap by presenting, analysing and assessing ISDS reform from an ASEAN perspective, taking into account the experience, needs and concerns of ASEAN as a community and of its member states.

This edited volume aims at examining China's role in the field of international governance and the rule of law under the Belt and Road Initiative from a holistic manner. It seeks alternative analytical frameworks that not only take into account legal ideologies and legal ideals, but also local demand and socio-political circumstances, to explain and understand China's legal interactions with countries along the Road, so that more useful insights can be produced in predicting and analysing China's as well as other emerging Asian countries' legal future. Authors from Germany, Korea, Singapore, Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have contributed to this edited volume, which produces academic dialogues and conducts intellectual exchanges in specific sub-themes.

The reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is a subject of ongoing debate in international institutions, yet an ASEAN perspective on the subject has been largely absent to date. This book addresses that gap by presenting, analysing and assessing ISDS reform from an ASEAN perspective, taking into account the experience, needs and concerns of ASEAN as a community and of its member states. The book provides a consolidated summary of the range of ISDS reform proposals that have been put forward internationally, alongside a systematic overview of the ISDS provisions of over 300 international investment agreements concluded by ASEAN and its member states. Combining this information, the authors critically analyse the content, structure and modalities of reform proposals from an ASEAN standpoint, including their ability to address reform concerns particular to ASEAN member states. Chapters explore a wide range of topics, covering the rationale, modalities and concerns involved in ISDS reform. The book will be of interest to academics and graduate students in the fields of international investment law and ASEAN law and policy. It will also be of relevance to policy-makers in ASEAN, and more broadly, to practitioners and arbitrators who are interested in ISDS reform.