Chinas Influence On Non Trade Concerns In International Economic Law

This volume examines the range of Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) that may conflict with international economic rules and proposes ways to protect them within international law and international economic law. Globalization without local concerns can endanger relevant issues such as good governance, human rights, right to water, right to food, social, economic, cultural and environmental rights, labor rights, access to knowledge, public health, social welfare, consumer interests and animal welfare, climate change, energy, environmental protection and sustainable development, product safety, food safety and security. Focusing on China, the book shows the current trends of Chinese law and policy towards international standards. The authors argue that China can play a leading role in this context: not only has China adopted several reforms and new regulations to address NTCs; but it has started to play a very relevant role in international negotiations on NTCs such as climate change, energy, and culture, among others. While China is still considered a developing country, in particular from the NTCs’ point of view, it promises to be a key actor in international law in general and, more specifically, in international economic law in this respect. This volume assesses, taking into consideration its special context, China’s behavior internally and externally to understand its role and influence in shaping NTCs in the context of international economic law.

The motivating idea for this project is to explore the range of Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) that may conflict with international economic rules with a specific focus on how China can play a decisive role in these matters. If, on the one hand, this volume looks at the tensions between trade and non-trade values through the Chinese experience, on the other, it contextualizes this analysis within the broader framework of public international law. Public international law appears highly fragmented, as different treaties and rules, which often express different values, increasingly overlap. Although the goal of multilateral trade agreements and that of the treaties and institutions promoting different values do not inherently conflict, the norms adopted to achieve them might come into conflict, and, in practice, tensions do exist. In particular, norms with distinct objectives - such as sustainable development, environmental protection, public health, product safety, food security, consumer protection, the right to food, and the right to water - might affect trade patterns, or, conversely, changes in trade flows influence and possibly jeopardize the realization of such norms. Tensions do exist not only between each state's conflicting obligations, but among states as well, since their priorities differ considerably. With regard to NTCs, developing countries do not have the same approach as developed ones. Public opinion and policy-makers in industrialized nations fear that a further liberalization of international trade may undermine or jeopardize policies and measures protecting a variety of non-trade values and react by increasingly resorting to trade restrictions. On the other hand, developing countries and, even more so, the least-developed ones have more pressing concerns to address, and tend to look at many of the trade measures introduced by developed countries to address NTCs with distrust if not with resistance or dissent, because they suspect such measures often hide protectionist goals. Moreover, developing countries see these measures as an attempt by developed countries to impose their social, ethical, or cultural values and preferences. The key challenge is finding ways to satisfy the right of developed nations to grant social values the degree of protection they consider appropriate, while minimizing the negative effects in terms of market distortion for their trading partners. Prior to China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), many cautioned that its integration would not only be long and difficult, but possibly damaging to the Organization itself as well as its Members. In view of preventing this outcome, some experts decided to tackle the challenge of integrating China in the world trading system by focusing on the country's market access concessions, tariff reductions, and liberalization requirements. A second group of scholars placed more emphasis on transparency issues instead, such as legal and administrative policies that China should adopt to ensure equitable and efficient resolution of trade disputes. Per contra, the issue of the potential influence of China's WTO accession on NTCs has rarely been addressed in a comprehensive manner. Interestingly, though, the country's influence in this area is now becoming more and more evident in the geopolitical context, considering the impact that China has had not only at the WTO but in other international fora as well, often in combination with the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other developing countries.

This volume examines the range of Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) that may conflict with international economic rules and proposes ways to protect them within international law and international economic law. Globalization without local concerns can endanger relevant issues such as good governance, human rights, right to water, right to food, social, economic, cultural and environmental rights, labor rights, access to knowledge, public health, social welfare, consumer interests and animal welfare, climate change, energy, environmental protection and sustainable development, product safety, food safety and security. Focusing on China, the book shows the current trends of Chinese law and policy towards international standards. The authors argue that China can play a leading role in this context: not only has China adopted several reforms and new regulations to address NTCs; but it has started to play a very relevant role in international negotiations on NTCs such as climate change, energy, and culture, among others. While China is still considered a developing country, in particular from the NTCs’ point of view, it promises to be a key actor in international law in general and, more specifically, in international economic law in this respect. This volume assesses, taking into consideration its special context, China’s behavior internally and externally to understand its role and influence in shaping NTCs in the context of international economic law.

This volume concerns several aspects of China's changing market based economy. These include commercial contract enforcement, corporate structures, competition law and other issues related to China's membership in the WTO. In the past two decades, the rapid integration of China's economy into the global marketplace has created obligations and expectations of non-discrimination and regulatory transparency in domestic markets. The Chinese government has responded by demanding better governance within major companies, market sectors and public administration generally. However, as the articles in this volume show, it has struggled to find a corporate structure capable of absorbing external equity investment and participation but still amenable to direct and indirect state guidance. It has also moved cautiously in creating legal controls over unfair competition. Moreover, the protection of state owned enterprises, which serve as vehicles for domestic economic, social and political policy, has been a recurring issue in China's WTO trade disputes.

This book explores the legal implications of China’s state-directed economic model for the existing international economic order. It first reveals the close links between the market and the state in contemporary China by profiling an emerging triple role of the state in the economy. It then explores how the domestic legal system underpins the distinctive market-state relationship, before analysing whether essential norms of international economic law, which bracket the international economic order, are able to adapt to China’s innovative market-state relationship. The book argues that the international economic order is inherently limited since it tends to adhere to an orthodox dichotomy, with a clear boundary between the market and the state. It also suggests that China’s new state-market relationship has challenged the dichotomy – the state does not intend to eliminate the functioning of the market but, conversely, utilises a market mechanism and makes itself more integrated into the market. Lastly the book proposes a fresh perspective to comprehend the ‘market-state’ question, which does not to take for granted that all market-state relationships are mutually exclusive.

These two groundbreaking volumes look at complex legal issues in the changing global economy from the perspective of Asia and/or Japan. Contributors scrutinize the past, present, and future and discuss what the global legal order in economic fields could be like by navigating uncertain and turbulent times. The books address six main themes: (1) Polarization and diversification of values, progress of regionalism and restructuring of multilateral rules, (2) Full-scale arrival of the digital economy and its impact, (3) Empowerment of private persons/entities, (4) Reconsideration of the concept of “territorial jurisdiction”, (5) Law of national security and rule in emergency situations, and (6) Values of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in trade and investment liberalization rules. The book also examines various legal problems under the COVID-19 crisis and suggests how the post COVID-19 global economic order will be from the perspective of Asia and/or Japan. This comprehensive insight will shed light on the intertwined and complex phenomena of the world economy and allow readers of business law and international law to have a better understanding of this volatile era.

In short, the 24 selected and representative articles written in English by the author over the past 30-odd years, mainly published in international leading journals and now collected and compiled in this monograph, could be deemed the products of international academic debates. They record, reflect and embody the author’s personal views on a number of contemporary basic issues in international economic law & the international economic order. These personal views with Chinese characteristics are deeply rooted in China’s specific national situation and the common position of the world-wide weak groups, and are significantly and substantially different and independent from some existing voices from strong western powers, which is why the book bears the title “The Voice from China”. On the basis of their specific themes and content, the 24 representative articles are divided into six parts: 1) Jurisprudence of Contemporary International Economic Law; 2) Great Debates on Contemporary Economic Sovereignty; 3) China’s Strategic Position on Contemporary International Economic Order Issues; 4) Divergences on Contemporary Bilateral Investment Treaty; 5) Contemporary China’s Legislation on Sino-Foreign Economic Issues; and 6) Contemporary Chinese Practices on International Economic Disputes (Case Analysis).

The TPP was negotiated among 12 economically diverse countries, including some most highly developed and rich countries (i.e., the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore), some newly industrialized countries (i.e., Mexico and Malaysia), and some less-developed countries (i.e., Peru, Chile, and Vietnam). A new paradigm created in this context is that countries with vastly different economic developments can actually agree on a set of very high standards to regulate their economic activities, to liberalize their trade, and to protect intellectual property and foreign investment. The contents of the TPP also reflect its status of being a “new paradigm” as the “21st-Century Trade Agreement” and being a pioneer in rule making in many key regulatory areas. These include not only the improved and enhanced rules on traditional issues already covered by the WTO , such as goods, services, and IP rights, but also the carefully designed rules in areas that have never been addressed in the WTO or comprehensively covered in other FTAs , such as state-owned enterprises, electronic commerce, and labor and environmental issues. Although the United States has withdrawn from the TPP, the remaining countries are still putting efforts into establishing a TPP without the United States or a TPP with China. Economically speaking, the current 11 parties account for about 20 % of the global economy. If such agreement is put into force, there will be significant implications for the region, for the multilateral system, and even for other FTAs. The book addresses the potential of the TPP to change the ways trade and investments are conducted and argues for its potential to be the start of an international trade/economic law revolution. The book elaborates the relationship between the TPP and other existing trade agreements such as the WTO and other FTAs and explains how the TPP is to deal with traditional and new issues. Taken together, the authors argue that the implications of the TPP go beyond its current membership. It is hoped that the book will make an important contribution to the field of international economic law.

Since China adopted its 'open door' policy in 1978, which altered its development strategy from self-sufficiency to active participation in the world market, its goal has remained unchanged: to assist the readjustment of China's economy, to coordinate its modernization programs, and to improve its quality of life. With the 1997 launch of the 'Going Global' policy, an outward focus regarding foreign investment was added, to circumvent trade barriers and improve the competitiveness of Chinese firms. In order to accommodate inward and outward investment, China's participation in the international investment regime has underpinned its efforts to join multilateral investment-related legal instruments and conclude international investment agreements. This collection, compiled by award-winning scholar Professor Julien Chaisse, explores the three distinct tracks of China's investment policy and strategy: bilateral agreements including those with the US and the EU; regional agreements including the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific; and global initiatives, spear-headed by China's presidency of the G20 and its 'Belt and Road initiative'. The book's overarching topic is whether these three tracks compete with each other, or whether they complement one another - a question of profound importance for the country's political and economic future and world investment governance.