China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative and its implications for Sino-African investment relations¹

Abstract

Since 2000, China carried out the ‘Going Global Strategy’ to encourage outward investment. Now it is one of the world’s major capital-export countries and has concluded many bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with most of the countries in the world. The One Belt, One Road Initiative is the continuing and deepening of the ‘Going Global Strategy’. This study argues that Chinese investments in Africa in the past 10 years have increased rapidly, however it has not been proportionate to the increase in pace and volume of Chinese outward investment. As far as foreign investment is concerned, African states should take action in order to grasp the opportunities to benefit from China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Improving Sino-African BITs is a necessary and effective step to take, among others.

Keywords:

• China
• Going Global Strategy
• One Belt One Road initiative
• Sino-African BITs

Notes

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on contributor

Huiping Chen, is Professor of International Law at School of Law, Xiamen University (China). She is the Vice Secretary-General of the Chinese Society of International Economic Law, and the Secretary-General of the Administrative Council of Xiamen Academy of International Law. She was visiting scholar at Leiden University (the Netherlands) (2000?2001), Fulbright Research Scholar at Georgetown University Law Center (the US) (2006?2007), and Freeman Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana and Champaign (the US) (2012?2013). She has conducted several research projects in the field of international economic law. She has a variety of publications of articles and books in Chinese and English.

Notes

1 The paper is an outcome of the research project of ‘Innovation Team’ (ZK1063) sponsored by Xiamen University in 2015. It was first presented at the 5th SIEL Biennial Conference on July 7–9, Johannesburg, South Africa.

2 UNCTAD, 2015 World Investment Report, P. 43.

3 Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Belt and Road, Issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/03/29/2941s872030.htm, June 30, 2016.

4 For details, please refer to the website of the Bank: http://www.aiib.org/.

5 For details, please refer to the website of the Fund: http://www.silkroadfund.com.cn.

6 ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiatives offer opportunities for Eurasia: Chinese scholar, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-03/24/c_134092811.htm, March 24, 2015.

7 UNCTAD, 2016 World Investment Report, P. 43.

8 Unless specified, all figure information is self-compiled. Statistics come from UNCTAD, 2015 World Investment Report and 2014 Statistical Bulletin of China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment, China Statistics Press.

9 Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange. 2014. Statistical Bulletin of China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment, China Statistics Press, 2015, p. 99.

10 Ibid.

11 Yun Sun, Inserting Africa into China’s One Belt, One Road strategy: A new opportunity for jobs and infrastructure?, http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2015/03/02-africa-china-jobs-infrastructure-sun, March 2, 2015.

12 For details of Sino-African BITs, please refer to my article Sino-African BITs Practice: A New Legal Paradigm? and its Annex, in: Soochow Law Journal, Vol. 9, No. 2, July 2012, pp. 59–98.