The China-EU BIT and the Emerging 'Global BIT 2.0'

Abstract

Since China and the European Union (EU) announced their decision to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) at the 14th China–EU Summit in February 2012,3 the two sides have engaged in two rounds of negotiations.4 As the first standalone BIT that the EU has attempted to negotiate and a treaty between two of the world’s largest economies, the China–EU BIT is bound to occupy a unique place in the world history of BIT negotiations.5 This note attempts to assess the key issues that are likely to be involved in the negotiations of the BIT and its global implications. It concludes that, while there are many tough issues to tackle in the negotiations, a successful China–EU BIT is likely to become a symbol for the emerging ‘Global BIT 2.0’.6 Although there are currently BIT arrangements between China and all but one Member State of the EU, the China–EU BIT negotiations would involve far more work than simply consolidating or streamlining ‘the existing BITs between China and the EU Member States into a single and coherent text’.7 Indeed, it can be expected that the two sides will seize this opportunity to update and upgrade their investment treaty arrangements, taking into account the recent world investment treaty practices in general and those of the two sides in particular.