Dispute Settlement and the Belt and Road Initiative

This book presents a response to the numerous calls for instituting a rules-based approach in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) dispute resolution. The theoretical framework developed here builds a case that the BRI is a demonstration of China’s growing use of “soft power” and that BRI dispute settlement consequently operates on the basis of a “power-based” approach. The work analyses what a rules-based approach to dispute resolution means, explores what the BRI actually is, and what BRI disputes are. It then considers why rules are understood to be necessary in BRI dispute resolution and, finally, sets out policy proposals. It will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of Chinese Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, International Investment Law, World Trade Law, and Comparative Law.