This book discusses the major features of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) and its likely impact on investment liberalisation in China, Europe’s largest trading partner. The principal aim of the book is to evaluate the progress of the investment liberalisation efforts pursued by the negotiators of the CAI.

Part I, “Geopolitical Origins and Negotiations of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment”, examines the interests, motivations, and expectations of the parties during the negotiation process and following the agreement in principle on the CAI. Part II, “Substantive Issues of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment”, considers specific focus areas that are critical for the mutual opening of the European and Chinese markets for foreign investors. Part III, “Dispute Resolution Mechanisms of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment”, reviews the applicability and effectiveness of the available dispute settlement and treaty enforcement mechanisms provided for in the CAI including investor-state dispute settlement, state-to-state dispute settlement, and non-adversarial methods.

The book offers a combination of theoretical perspectives that will be of interest to international economic law scholars and provides practical insights on how the CAI is likely to shape the investment landscape for European businesses in China.