Is This a Great Leap Forward? – A Comparative Review of the Investor-State Arbitration Clause in the ASEAN-China Investment Treaty : From BIT Jurisprudential and Practical Perspectives

A major feature of modern bilateral investment treaties (BITs) is to allow investors to access international tribunals such as ICSID for the resolution of disputes between the investor and the host state. Both ASEAN member states and China are active BIT players and entered into more than 240 and 120 BITs respectively. With tremendous political, economic and legal significance, ASEAN and China concluded an investment treaty in 2009. The focus of this article is to scrutinize key aspects of the investor-state arbitration clause in this new regional treaty from BIT jurisprudential and practical perspectives, in particular, the Chinese BIT perspectives. Compared to old-generation Chinese BITs, this treaty is leaning towards a liberal stance further facilitating investors to resort to international arbitration for investment disputes, which in turn promotes liberalism and unity in BIT activities in the region