The Changing Rules of International Dispute Resolution in China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, aka One Belt One Road—OBOR) creates enormous opportunities for both Chinese and foreign investment in BRI countries. Emerging from the allegedly “largest scale” of cross-border investments in modern history are countless complex contracts of a commercial, public, or hybrid nature. It is vitally important for both Chinese and foreign investors to be well prepared and equipped for dealing with potential disputes arising from these contracts. In this chapter, after briefly introducing the background to BRI, the authors focus on analyzing the potential legal risks that may appear, among others, in BRI infrastructure projects, and advise on the evolving and prevailing rules of international commercial and investment arbitrations, which, in the authors’ view, are the most effective and protective dispute resolution mechanisms available to investors.