INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 1/3LY
COMMENTARY FROM RUTH STACKPOOL-MOORE AND ANDREW FENNELL 19
CHINE SE WHI SPER S
When China hosted the G20 summit in Hangzhou this September, the preparation was meticulous. Buildings facing major roads were given fresh paint; ugly air conditioning units were disguised with false balconies; the streets were decked with blossoming flowers; and to improve the bird’s eye view, even some rooftops were painted. The usual grey skies made way for a ‘G20 blue’ – as some locals dubbed it – thanks to the closure of the city’s factories to clear the air. The vast sums spent on creating a perfect G20 setting show just howmuch China cares about how the world sees it. Yet frustratingly for the Chinese government, western news coverage failed to focus on the beauty of Hangzhou, or the projected strength of the Chinese state. Instead, in the UK at least, the news lens zoomed in on the latest controversy surrounding Chinese outward investment, this time a nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, TheresaMay had reportedly pressed pause on the deal due to national security concerns, but it is now going ahead with extra safeguards. Just a month or so before, there was a similar political storm in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel came under fire over a Chinese firm’s buyout of German robotics company KUKA. In recent years, a vast amount of Chinese capital has flown outwards, into foreign investment projects. Much of this has followed the path of the historic ‘silk road’ trading route, under what China terms its ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative. Its strategy has been to invest heavily in the 60 or so countries that together connect China to Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, via both land and sea. Chinese foreign investment initially began with construction and infrastructure projects, in which contractors owned by the Chinese government built power plants, refineries, airports, and road and rail lines in other countries. But with OBOR, the scope of projects has widened, to include industries such as real estate development, manufacturing, technology and e-commerce. Richard Bell, a dispute resolution partner in the Shanghai office of Clyde & Co with expertise in disputes arising from cross-border transactions, explains: “Through the OBOR initiative, the Chinese government has encouraged Chinese companies to invest more in these new sectors, and not just as passive investors. We are seeing increasing interest on the part of Chinese companies in joint ventures and active ownership of assets.
CHINA I S BECOMING MORE ARBI TRAT ION FRIENDLY AND MORE AWARE OF THE NEED TO PL AY BY THE RULES WHEN I T COMES TO INTERNAT IONAL TRADE .
A S CHINA’ S INFLUENCE S TRE TCHES ACROSS THE GLOBE , I T S BUS INESSES ARE BECOMING MORE CO - OPERAT I VE IN RESOLV ING DI SPUT ES .
R U T H S TA C K P OOL- MOOR E
RICHARD BELL
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