Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

1-2024

Abstract

This article argues that China's foreign investor complaints system constitutes 'state-centric investment mediation'. The Rules on Handling Complaints of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, which entered into force on 1 October 2020, place a state agency in the position of facilitating negotiations between a foreign investor and the agency being complained against. The prospects for this complaints system depend on how the state-as-mediator dynamic is perceived by foreign investors. To this end, it will be argued that settlement agreements reached pursuant to this system may be enforceable under the Singapore Convention on Mediation in certain circumstances. Investors and government entities operating similar systems worldwide should be cognisant of the broad drafting terminology of the Singapore Convention. Moreover, it is proposed that further clarification of the procedural rules and the inclusion of China's foreign-related dispute resolution institutions may enhance investor confidence and encourage use of the complaints system.

Discipline

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | International Trade Law

Publication

Asian Journal of Comparative Law

First Page

1

Last Page

21

ISSN

2194-6078

Identifier

10.1017/asjcl.2024.1

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Copyright Owner and License

Authors CC-BY

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2024.1

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