ABSTRACT
The change in status has prompted China to reconsider its position when negotiating bilateral investment treaties (BITs), thinking more like a capital-exporting country and looking for better treatment of and more protection for its overseas assets. China has been one of the most important destinations of United States (US) and European Union (EU) investments. This chapter examines the consensus and disparities between the China–US BIT and the China–EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment negotiations on market access, expropriation and compensation, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In the China-Canada BIT, China has embraced the notion of indirect expropriation but seems quite hesitant to incorporate the proportionality approach into the interpretation. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement expropriation provisions are in line with those of the China-Canada BIT with respect to the definitions of expropriation, including indirect expropriation and requirements for compensation. In the China-Canada BIT, China reserves some leniency for its SOEs.
