Towards Greater Integration? Legal and Policy Directions of Chinese Investments in Pakistan on the Advent of the Silk Road Economic Belt

Abstract

Pakistan has an enduring friendship with China, and the two countries have long-standing economic ties. There is an existing strong investment flow between the two countries, but the new Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) initiative and its offshoot China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will substantially increase the flow of Chinese investments in Pakistan. In the auspices of the SREB, China will finance its companies to build a comprehensive regional transportation network in order to stimulate economic growth and social development. The SREB Action Plan has a more viable strategy for long-term development as compared with the existing regional economic integration and development models, and the CPEC will undoubtedly create numerous opportunities for the two countries. A scrutiny of the Chinese policies to invest in Pakistan and the prevalent strong bilateral regime for investment promotion and protection suggest that China-Pakistan investment relations reflect a move towards much deeper economic integration. However, the various legal and policy orientations of these Chinese projects reveal serious challenges in reaching the overall vision, harnessing it with the intended objectives, and enhancing the legitimacy of its implementation strategies. There is a need for proactive solutions for the transnational problems that the CPEC and the SREB are going to generate.