New players and old rules: A critique of the China-Ethiopian and China-Tanzanian bilateral investment treaties

Man, Amy

Abstract

The relationship between China and its African partners is garnering much academic attention. The objective of this paper is to scrutinise this relationship in the context of international investment law (IIL). Within the literature, there is a neo-liberal assumption that FDI will serve as a catalyst for economic development. To help encourage flows and indicate their willingness to host investment, many developing States are signing investment agreements. By signing these agreements, these States integrate themselves into an existing system where the obligations constrain their ability to regulate in the public interest. This paper seeks to critique China's bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with Ethiopia and Tanzania. This author argues that, as an emerging actor, China assimilates the existing rules, rather than adopting a radically new approach to IIL. Additionally, there are signs of positive change within recent Chinese IAs, such as the China-Tanzania BIT. However, these slight changes are not enough to offset the premise of the IIL system, since its original design was to safeguard investors and the interests of capital-exporting States.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Sustainable Market Actors in Trade and Investment Conference
• Start Date: May 9, 2017
• End Date: May 10, 2017
• Acceptance Date: May 10, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: bilateral investment treaties, BITs, China, Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, public interest, regulation, international investment law, investment, foreign direct investment, FDI
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/887877
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Sustainable Market Actors in Trade and Investment Conference