Trade and investment policy-making has entered a new phase with the negotiation of “Mega Regionals” such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the US and the EU. A recent Discussion Paper of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) authored by Axel Berger suggests that China is a latecomer to the current wave of regionalism. To this date, China concluded 11 preferential trade agreements of which only six include comprehensive rules on investment. Most notably, these agreements do not grant foreign investors enhanced market access, a common feature of US and EU treaties. Given China’s treaty-making history it is thus not very likely that China will readily follow the example of the US and the EU.
Download and read the paper here.