Xu Qian on Phoenix from the Ashes: CPTPP Meaning for Asia-Pacific (and Global) Investment (AJWH)

"Phoenix from the Ashes: CPTPP Meaning for Asia-Pacific (and Global) Investment"
Xu Qian
Asian Journal of WTO Law and Health Policy, Volume 15.2

Published in October 2020

Abstract: Formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (hereinafter “TPP”), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TransPacific Partnership (hereinafter “CPTPP”) is a multilateral Free Trade Agreement (hereinafter “FTA”) signed by eleven Asia-Pacific Countries on March 8, 2018. The aim of the CPTPP is to boost international trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to the entry into force of the CPTPP, the U.S. withdrew from the TPP agreement in early 2017. In spite of this, the CPTPP nevertheless portrays a critical advance toward deeper trade and investment linkages in the Asia-Pacific region and also projects new and exclusive features for regional trade. This article provides a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the new pact and demonstrates how the CPTPP codifies many changes and clarifications made to investment law over the last years. Importantly, the normative quality and geographic scope of the CPTPP places the agreement amongst the most detailed and important investment treaties. In fact, the CPTPP may be read as a strengthening (or a de facto renegotiation) of North American Free Trade Agreement (hereinafter “NAFTA”) and many other agreements such as the 2010 ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand (AANZ) FTA. Last but not least, the TPP truly displays a systemic importance because it has the potential to become a multilateral treaty as the membership is open to new members willing to sign up to its terms.

New Book: Water Services Disputes in International Arbitration (Xu Qian)

"Water Services Disputes in International Arbitration"
Xu Qian

2020, Wolters Kluwer
Book description: 

Water Services Disputes in International Arbitration is a well-timed book which focuses on an economic area of substantial importance for the society as a whole—governance of water. Water is not only a vital human need but also extremely precious and valuable. It is a finite resource having “economic value,” facing tremendously increasing demands and challenges, and considerable legal issues (at both theoretical and empirical levels). The legal consequences of the multifaceted nature of water and sanitation services are investigated in this book. In this respect, it concentrates on an analysis of the international law (law in norms in the form of international treaties and their interpretation by international arbitral tribunals that have developed a case law over the years) which applies to cross-border (or foreign) investment made in water and sanitation services.

What’s in this book:

Being the first of its kind, this book aims to fill a significant gap in the existing literature and dwells on how to harmonize the economic and fundamental human interests arising from investment in water and sanitation services under the international investment regime. Among the many key issues, the author highlights the importance of the following:

• legitimacy of a State’s alleged regulatory objectives, the suitability of the measures undertaken to achieve the objective, and whether there are less-restrictive means available;
• legal framework and stability of the State;
• applicable law, changes in law, and emergency circumstances;
• economic issues such as water pricing;
• profit-driven private companies’ reluctance to serve the poor;
• investment tribunals’ generation of a “regulatory and jurisprudential regime” on water and sanitation services; and
• determination of liability in relation to expropriation, fair and equitable treatment, and necessity.

     The author, a leading expert in the intersection between international economic law and human rights, offers viable, sustainable, and reasonable legal solutions to the increasing number of investment disputes with water services. A detailed annex also presents cases decided before a variety of arbitral tribunals, as well as relevant World Trade Organization and International Court of Justice cases, and reviews critical literature in the field.

How this will help you:

This book, an in-depth and unique analysis, will be welcomed by not only the scholarly and student community but also trade and investment officials, policy makers, diplomats, economists, lawyers, think tanks, and business leaders interested in the subject areas of water governance and regulation, water economy, economic policy reforms and the evolution of the new types of regional trade agreements. It also suggests ways to enable States to better manage vital water services, even after privatization to foreign companies.

HKU Law Welcomes Dr Xu QIAN (Post-doctoral Fellow in Belt and Road Law)

HKU Law warmly welcomes Dr Xu QIAN who joins the team of scholars researching legal issues related to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Dr Qian explores issues at the intersection of international economic law and human rights. Her work also deals with environmental law, dispute settlement, constitutional law and increasingly Greater Bay Area legal cooperation. Her publications include “Rethinking Judicial Discretion in International Adjudication” Connecticut Journal of International Law (2020); “Is It Finally Time for Asia’s Free Trade Agreements? The ASEAN Present and the RCEP Future” Asian Journal of International Law (2019); “Challenges of Water Governance (and Privatization) in China” Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law (2018); "Trans-Pacific Partnership: A World Trade Revolution?,” APEC Currents (2016). She contributes to Asia Law Portal which is the leading source of information and insights on the practice of law in the vast Asia-Pacific region. Dr QIAN is currently working on a new article, which critically examines the application of the proportionality principle across two decades of investment disputes.

    Dr Qian was a scholar in residence at The Hague Academy of International Law in 2019 for which she received the Academy’s prestigious “Doctoral Scholarship.” She has presented her work at many academic events including the International Water Association (IWA) Annual Conference (2016), Asia FDI Forum II, III and IV (respectively, May 2016, March 2017 and March 2018), and Loyola School of Law conference “Rule of Law in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda”. Dr Qian holds a BA from Heilongjiang University (2012), an LLM and PhD from CUHK Law (respectively 2014 and 2019), and a post-graduate diploma from the Academy of International Trade and Investment Law (2015).