The Legal Framework of EU-China Investment Relations: A Critical Appraisal (with a Foreword by Professor Sir Elihu Lauterpacht)

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EU investment in China has increased dramatically since the early 1990s and is poised to increase further in light of China's recent accession to the World Trade Organisation. This book explores and critically appraises the existing legal framework governing EU-China investment relations, particularly EU investment in China. The current legal framework is composed of Chinese law, EU law and applicable international law, but the Chinese law is unsystematic and hard to discover and the EU has acquired only shared external investment competence which is vaguely defined. The applicable international treaties are incomplete, incoherent, or either too general or too specialised. Besides this, the international fora to settle investment disputes are still not readily available. Furthermore while law has played a very important role in decision-making by EU investors, the Chinese legal system is generally perceived as ineffective and lacking in effective enforcement of court and arbitration decisions. What the book demonstrates is that the time is ripe for a new international legal framework for foreign investment in China, and that as EU-China economic and political relations continue to improve, construction of such a framework is not only necessary, but also possible.

Reviews

...fills a gap in research on legal analysis of EU-China investment relations...this book is well written and the author is very knowledgeable about international law, EU law and Chinese law. Shan does not merely provide an interesting and detailed overview of the existing legal framework of EU investment in China, but also gives well-reasoned suggestions for improving the current situation. The book is very helpful to anyone who works or does studies in the field of EU-China relations. It is an accomplishment that I admire. -- Lei Zhang * Common Market Law Review, Vol 44 *
it would not be an exaggeration to say that any endeavour to explore the EU-China relationship would be of great value. [This book] is the most eminent amongst such endeavours -- CAI Congyan * Chinese Journal of International Law *

Author Bio

Dr. Wenhua Shan is Reader in International Economic Law at Oxford Brookes University, England, the Dean and Professor of Law at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, and University Chair Professor of Law at Xiamen University, China. He practices international and Chinese laws as a Senior Consultant at Haoliwen PRC Attorneys, Shanghai, and is an Arbitrator for various arbitration authorities in China.