China-US Bilateral Investment Treaty Prospects

　　The agreed resumption of China-US Bilateral¹ Investment Treaty, or BIT, is being cited as the most significant outcome of the recently concluded China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

 

　　Whilst some experts are optimistic about the outcomes, some remain skeptical² due to the drastic differences between the two sides economic policies.

 

　　CRI's Lucy Du has more.

 

　　The future negotiations³ will cover six major areas, including performance requirements, labour and environment standards, investor⁴-state dispute settlement, national treatment, non-conforming measures and sectoral⁵ restrictions⁶.

 

　　A major breakthrough was achieved last week when the two sides agreed upon the Pre-establishment National Treatment or PENT with a "negative list" approach. The PENT grants foreign investors⁷ national treatment in the pre-establishment phase of business.

 

　　This is a major move for China, who has previously⁸ limited its agreements to post-establishment national treatment. The "negative list" approach also signals China's widening of FDI activities protected by national treatment status.

 

　　He WeiWen is the co-director at the China-US Study Centre and former Counsellor at Chinese Consulate⁹ General in New York. Whilst welcoming the agreement, he stresses the importance of symmetrical attitudes.

 

　　"I have to mention that PENT and negative list are reciprocal. It does not apply to China only but to the US as well. For example, there is the recent case of Shuanghui's acquisition of Smithfield, and there is much cry in the US over worries about the fate of pork production. And in this case we should say is pork production on a negative list? If not it means that the pre-establishment of the Chinese company has the right to make an investment".

 

　　He believes that aside from the PENT and negative list, other issues are insignificant¹⁰. This view is not shared by all.

 

　　Meric Sar is an arbitration¹¹ attorney and BIT researcher at Georgetown University. He argues that the government would not look over any area of contention¹² given the inherent cost of entering into a BIT.

 

　　"A BIT forsees a self contained legal mechanism¹³ where an investor can sue the whole State by circumventing¹⁴ the local courts. States tend to not like this. To give the autonomy and power to an arbitral tribunal to decide on State is something sovereign States choose to do only if it pays off."

 

　　An effective BIT needs to protect FDIs while allowing each country to retain their respective public policy prerogative¹⁵.

 

　　"For every businessman, every regulation is an interference to business and it brings certain costs. Contemporary BITs try to bring coverage¹⁶ over regulations and try to pull governments to act in a more transparent¹⁷ way. However as I said this is an experiment and what is reached will give shape to future BITs with more substantive¹⁸ protections."

 

　　Over the last half century BITs have become the key legal mechanism for fostering and governing cross-border direct investment.

 

　　The latest figures show China's FDI rose by 4.9% year on year, amounting to nearly 62 billion U.S. dollars, for the 1st half of 2013. For the same period, Chinese outflowing FDI rose 29 percent year on year to 45.6 billion U.S. dollars.

 

　　Meanwhile, the US has long been the world's largest host and investor. The negotiations has been marked out as the most important in recent history, with many hoping that it will usher¹⁹ in a new global template for future multilateral investment agreements.

 

　　For CRI, I am Lucy Du.

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 sectoral   

adj.扇形的

参考例句：

• Is agriculture actually taxed by sectoral policies, or is It'subsidized? 按照部门政策，农业实际上是上缴了税还是得到了补贴呢？ 来自辞典例句
• In the 1980s this concept was used to buttress several so-called sectoral reciprocity proposals. 80年代这一原则曾被用来支持几个所谓部分互惠建议。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

10 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

11 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

12 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

14 circumventing   

v.设法克服或避免（某事物），回避( circumvent的现在分词 )；绕过，绕行，绕道旅行

参考例句：

• They found a way of circumventing the law. 他们找到了规避法律的途径。
• This viewpoint sees the Multinational Corporation as capable of circumventing or subverting national objectives and policies. 这种观点认为，跨国公司能够遏制和破坏国家的目标和政策。 来自辞典例句

15 prerogative   

n.特权

参考例句：

• It is within his prerogative to do so.他是有权这样做的。
• Making such decisions is not the sole prerogative of managers.作这类决定并不是管理者的专有特权。

16 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

17 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

18 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

19 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。