ABSTRACT
This chapter makes a comparative analysis of the overall principles guiding the MSR of China’s OBOR programme and the rules and principles of the WTO. Both the WTO and OBOR aim at trade facilitation but with different means. Where the WTO is based on non-discrimination principles, transparency and market access in a multilateral setting, and where disputes are settled in the WTO Dispute Settlement System, the MSR is based on bilateral agreements, flexibility and with a dialogue-based approach to disputes. The chapter discusses overlaps between the OBOR principles and WTO law and it is assessed whether they complement each other from a WTO perspective. OBOR investments are important contributors to trade facilitation and seem to complement the WTO trade facilitation rules. However, there are two sides to the coin; where harmony is achieved on the one side, it opens up to the use of unfair trading rules on the other.
