Scoping the impact of the Comprehensive Agreement on investment: liberalization, protection, and dispute resolution in the next era of EU–China relations

ABSTRACT Ensuing the commencement of bilateral EU–China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) negotiations in 2014, European Union (EU) took seven years to confirm the agreement ‘in principle’. The finalization of the agreement owing to politicization will take time. However, both EU and China have committed to conclude the awaiting negotiations on investment protection and investment dispute settlement by the first half of 2022. EU's main objective is replacing bilateral investment treaties (BITs) between China and its own individual Member States. The article confers a first comprehensive analysis of CAI with advancing EU's international investment policy. It further analyzes the CAI provisions in light of both, pre-existing BITs between EU Member States and China and the EU-Vietnam FTA investment chapter. The comprehensive analysis helps to apprehend CAI's influence on the global regime for investment concerning investment liberalization, investment protection, and investment dispute resolution.