How can a prospective China-EU BIT contribute to sustainable investment: in light of the UNCTAD Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development

摘要

At present, the issue of bilateral investment treaties (BIT) is gaining more and more importance worldwide, because of various projects requiring effective financial flow, being globally initiated. This article tries to analyse the particularities of the BITs between China and Canada (China-Canada BIT), as well as between the European Union (EU) and Canada (investment chapter of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA) to locate and emphasize some of the basic features applicable for a future investment protection oriented agreement involving China and the EU. Furthermore, the scope of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)'s Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development (IPFSD) broadens the view on International Investment Agreements in general, helping the assessment of their provisions from a sustainability aspect. The article also covers some of the areas of dispute settlement, its main goal being to make complex suggestions to the constantly forming international investment policy of China, potentially contributing to the pressurization of sustainable development.