The International Legal Framework for Belt and Road Energy Cooperation: Progress and Prospect

Abstract

This article surveys the existing international legal framework governing China’s energy cooperation with the Belt and Road countries at multilateral, regional and bilateral levels. A satisfying international legal framework should manage to balance the legal certainty and political acceptability needed for energy cooperation. We argue that political acceptability was the primary goal driving the current energy legal framework, providing basic rules for energy cooperation. However, these rules did not sufficiently legalize and institutionalize the investment environment. China should endeavor to promote a comprehensive Belt and Road Energy Framework on the basis of intra-network diversification. By increasing the redundancy of the energy network infrastructure and allowing countries to import and export energy via multiple routes, China can contribute to the achievement of a more secure energy market.