An Inquiry on US 2012 Model BIT and Its Acceptability for China

Abstract

Based on the historical development of the United States’ Model BITs，this article delves the origin and developments of US BIT project. After analyzing the economic and investment policies underlying the BIT developments，it puts its emphasis on the new changes and features of the 2012 Model BIT, as well as the adjustments of the US BITE policy reflected by those changes. It also goes further to explore the criteria to judge whether we could accept the US Model BIT from the perspectives of both China-US investment relations and China’s policy orientation. It concludes that the criteria for China to accept US Model BIT and its specific provisions consist of three basic levels，which corresponds to the interests of China’s international investment： maintaining the power to regulate foreign investment，promoting and protecting China’s outward foreign investment，and contributing to China’s participation in the international investment regime and value construction.