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Articles 1 - 30 of 64
Full-Text Articles in Asian Studies
Data Sovereignty And Trade Agreements: Three Digital Kingdoms, Henry S. Gao
Data Sovereignty And Trade Agreements: Three Digital Kingdoms, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
For centuries, international lawyers have wrestled with the relationship between national sovereignty and international law. This is also the case of international trade law, where the tension between trade liberalization and national sovereignty culminated in the famous “Great 1994 Sovereignty Debate” between the late Prof. John Jackson and other leading scholars when the WTO came into being. As we enter the digital age, the issue of sovereignty resurfaced once again in the form of data sovereignty. In this paper, I will examine provisions in trade agreements which deal with data sovereignty issues, such as restrictions on data flow such as …
China’S Changing Perspective On The Wto: From Aspiration, Assimilation To Alienation, Henry S. Gao
China’S Changing Perspective On The Wto: From Aspiration, Assimilation To Alienation, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Since its accession to the WTO twenty years ago, China’s image has shifted from a good student aspiring to assimilate itself into the multilateral trading system to one that is increasingly alienated from key WTO principles. How has China’s perspective on WTO been evolving? What are the reasons behind China’s changing perspective? This chapter addresses these questions from the Chinese perspective with a comprehensive analysis of the key moments in China’s first two decades in the WTO, followed by practical suggestions on how to engage China more constructively in the WTO and beyond.
Competition Among Purposes: The Chinese Experience In The Governance Of Climate Change And Energy Transition, Henry S. Gao, Weihuan Zhou
Competition Among Purposes: The Chinese Experience In The Governance Of Climate Change And Energy Transition, Henry S. Gao, Weihuan Zhou
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Energy governance at the international level is fraught with difficulties due to the 'competition among purposes' between different bodies of international law. In this paper, we extend this thesis to argue that the same tension may be found in domestic energy governance. Drawing from China's experience in the governance of climate change and energy transition, we analyse how the misalignment of incentives between different actors and the incomplete market reform led to a drastic shift in policy in 2021. We also compare the different approaches in China's energy governance and trade governance and draw some general lessons on how developing …
The Geoeconomics Of Belt And Road Disputes: A Case Study On The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Mark Mclaughlin
The Geoeconomics Of Belt And Road Disputes: A Case Study On The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Mark Mclaughlin
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article argues that the dovetailing economic, geopolitical, and security interests that underpin the Belt and Road Initiative demands a dispute resolution mechanism that focuses on broader interests and legal rights. Using the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a case study, it identifies the conditions in which Chinese investors could have initiated an investment arbitration but did not. This can be explained by the rights-based orientation of investment treaties failing to reflect the interests of multi-project initiatives. Instead, alternative methods of home state intervention, such as state-funded political risk insurance, are used to protect investors. In other words, the political …
Rethinking Asia-Pacific Regionalism And New Economic Agreements, Julien Chaisse, Pasha L. Hsieh
Rethinking Asia-Pacific Regionalism And New Economic Agreements, Julien Chaisse, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The neoliberal international order is facing a variety of pressing obstacles. One of the most contentious issues is the emergence of new Asian regionalism, which has been driven by the rising economic power of the region and integration based on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Six framework. The legalization of the ASEAN way has propelled the New Regional Economic Order (NREO), which reinforces a trade-development nexus alternative to the Washington Consensus and will have far-reaching normative, economic, and geopolitical effects on the world. Given the proliferation of trade and investment initiatives including the ASEAN Economic Community and …
New Investment Rulemaking In Asia: Between Regionalism And Domestication, Pasha L. Hsieh
New Investment Rulemaking In Asia: Between Regionalism And Domestication, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The article analyses investment rulemaking in new Asian regionalism in the context of evolving national legislation and regional trade strategies. It argues that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) represent Asia's pragmatic incrementalism in reforming the investment regime. The process reinforces the relationship between international economic law and domestic investment laws. In tandem with transforming international investment agreements, ASEAN expedited investment and services trade, and established the modern investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. The RCEP further buttresses the ASEAN centrality in regional frameworks by consolidating ASEAN Plus One agreements. Yet, the RCEP's …
Shaping New Interregionalism: The Eu-Singapore Free Trade Agreement And Beyond, Pasha L. Hsieh
Shaping New Interregionalism: The Eu-Singapore Free Trade Agreement And Beyond, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The article examines the theoretical concept of interregionalism in the context of the evolving framework between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As the EU's first free trade agreement (FTA) with an ASEAN country, the EU-Singapore FTA is a pathfinder agreement that signifies a new phase of interregionalism and the EU's new Asia strategy after the Treaty of Lisbon. The article argues that the innovative designs of the EU-Singapore FTA will shape the normative development of EU-ASEAN relations in the post-pandemic era. It also cautions that a comparative analysis of EU and US agreements …
A Chinese Perspective, Henry S. Gao
A Chinese Perspective, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Many factors have been driving regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific in the past two decades, but the main driving force in the past decade has been the strategic competition between the two biggest powers in the region — the United States and China. This paper discusses the Chinese perspective of how the US-China strategic competition has shaped regional economic cooperation, along with the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. It concludes with some thoughts on post-pandemic economic cooperation in the region.
China’S Changing Perspective On The Wto: From Aspiration, Assimilation To Alienation, Henry S. Gao
China’S Changing Perspective On The Wto: From Aspiration, Assimilation To Alienation, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Since its accession to the WTO twenty years ago, China's image has shifted from a good student aspiring to assimilate itself into the multilateral trading system to one that is increasingly alienated from key WTO principles. How has China's perspective on WTO been evolving? What are the reasons behind China's changing perspective? This paper answers these questions from the Chinese perspective with a comprehensive analysis of the key moments in China's first two decades in the WTO, followed by practical suggestions on how to engage China more constructively in the WTO and beyond.
Will The European Union’S New Anti-Coercion Instrument Work With China?, Henry S. Gao
Will The European Union’S New Anti-Coercion Instrument Work With China?, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Recent years have witnessed the growing use of trade measures as geopolitical weapons. In response, the European Union is introducing a new instrument.
Regional Mapping: Digital Provisions Play A Key Role In Asia Pacific Agreements, Henry S. Gao
Regional Mapping: Digital Provisions Play A Key Role In Asia Pacific Agreements, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
IT HAS become more commonplace for trade agreements in the Asia Pacific to include a variety of digital trade provisions. To understand the salient features of these agreements, it is helpful to map out their main baseline features. Doing so also indicates where digital trade agreements may be going or need to go. This mapping covers all free trade agreements (FTAs) with chapters on e-commerce or digital trade since 2000 by the main players in the region-China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.
The Eu-China Comprehensive Agreement On Investment: Between Strategic Opportunity And Strategic Autonomy, Henry S. Gao
The Eu-China Comprehensive Agreement On Investment: Between Strategic Opportunity And Strategic Autonomy, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article provides a critical analysis of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), which was concluded in principle by the EU and China on 30 December 2020. It was hailed as “the most ambitious agreement that China has ever concluded with a third country” by the EU, and a “high-level” agreement that matches “international high-level economic and trade rules” by China. Upon a closer examination, however, such rhetoric does not appear to be warranted as the Agreement failed to add much in terms of substance. What, then, explains the rationale between the Agreement? This article argues that the key …
Mapping Sustainable Development In Investment Treaties: An Analysis Of Asean States' Practice, Mark Mclaughlin
Mapping Sustainable Development In Investment Treaties: An Analysis Of Asean States' Practice, Mark Mclaughlin
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The interaction between sustainable development and international investment treaties is of growing concern. Could investment protection stymie health regulation? Will States be sued for introducing measures to tackle climate change? A growing body of sustainability-related case law is evidence that arbitral tribunals balance investment obligations against States’ ability to regulate for national security, health, the environment, labour rights, transparency, and corporate social responsibility. Against this background, this paper maps sustainable development issues in 371 bilateral investment treaties (hereinafter “BITs”) concluded by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) States. It finds that only 26% of these treaties make any reference …
The Roadmap To The Asean-Eu Fta In The Post-Pandemic Era, Pasha L. Hsieh
The Roadmap To The Asean-Eu Fta In The Post-Pandemic Era, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) have enriched the multifaceted concept of interregionalism from legal and international relations perspectives. The article argues that the transformative ASEAN-EU frameworks have shaped the Third Interregionalism. Brussels' building-block approach envisions pathfinder agreements with individual ASEAN states as the basis for the ASEAN-EU FTA, which will help realize the EU's Indo-Paafic strategy and the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership. The designs of the EU's trade and investment agreements with Singapore and Vietnam are therefore critical. The article assesses core areas such as tariff liberalization and ASEAN cumulative rules of …
China's Regulatory Crackdowns And U.S.-China Trade And Investment Relations, Henry S. Gao
China's Regulatory Crackdowns And U.S.-China Trade And Investment Relations, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
China's regulatory crackdowns have affected U.S. and Chinese companies, but protectionist trade policies implemented by the Trump administration and continued by the Biden administration have severely restricted the ability of the U.S. government to protect U.S. businesses in the Chinese market. Unless the U.S. government changes course, American companies will be increasingly less able to address perceived wrongs in Chinese government policies and will be placed at a significant economic disadvantage in much of Asia.
Promising Trail Or Perilous Trap? Engaging China In The Wto And Beyond, Henry S. Gao
Promising Trail Or Perilous Trap? Engaging China In The Wto And Beyond, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
How to deal with China? This is the biggest question confronting U.S. trade policy - or even the United States' entire foreign policy - today. Over the past few years, the debate on this important issue has benefited from the contributions of many trade law scholars, including those by Mark Wu, Jennifer Hillman, Petros Mavroidis, André Sapir, Rob Howse, Weihuan Zhou, and the present author. In Governing the Interface of U.S.-China Trade Relations, Gregory Shaffer offers refreshing insights. Building on the framework developed by the U.S.-China Trade Policy Working Group, of which he is a member, Shaffer further adjusts the …
China And E-Commerce: The Long And Winding Road, Henry S. Gao
China And E-Commerce: The Long And Winding Road, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Although it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, China has largely kept silent on the e-commerce discussion and only made its first submission in this regard in 2016.
The Role Of Law In Chinese Value Chains, Henry Gao, Gregory Shaffer
The Role Of Law In Chinese Value Chains, Henry Gao, Gregory Shaffer
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Since starting its economic reform four decades ago, China has been highly successful in integrating its economy into regional and global value chains (GVCs). This started with simple assembly and processing, then expanded to low-end labor-intensive manufacturing, and gradually moved up to technology-intensive and capital-intensive industries. This article analyzes the development of Chinese law, legal institutions, and international and transnational legal initiatives to support the development of GVCs, which we divide into five phases. The article does not idealize law in terms of ‘commitment’ or ‘rule of law,’ but rather, in the legal realist tradition, views law as an important, …
Wto Reform And China: Defining Or Defiling The Multilateral Trading System?, Henry S. Gao
Wto Reform And China: Defining Or Defiling The Multilateral Trading System?, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In November 2001, China finally acceded to the World Trade Organization, in a deal described by then WTO Director-General Mike Moore as a “defining moment in the history of the multilateral trading system”. In recent years, however, China has been accused of defiling the letter and spirt of WTO rules with its unique economic model. Believing that existing WTO rules are inadequate in dealing with the China challenge, key WTO Members have launched a new round of WTO reform, which is the subject of this article. Contrary to popular belief, most of the problems concerning China are not new but …
Data Regulation In Trade Agreements: Different Models And Options Ahead, Henry S. Gao
Data Regulation In Trade Agreements: Different Models And Options Ahead, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
“Data is the new oil”. Just like oil, which powered the economy in the last century, data are what moves the world today. This is especially true for international trade. The crucial role played by data can be observed at every step of the process, from the conception of a new product and the sourcing of raw materials and parts, to the manufacturing process and the transportation of products across borders, until they finally reach the hands of consumers from every corner of the world.
Wto Reform: A China Round, Henry S. Gao
Wto Reform: A China Round, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Since its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China's exports have been growing exponentially. In 2009, China became the world's top goods exporter. Four years later, China unseated the United States as the top trading nation in the world. In contrast to the burgeoning Chinese economy, the United States and Europe have been suffering from economic decline since the global financial crisis in 2008. China regards its rise as a long overdue restoration of its rightful position, as it has been the largest economy in the world for most of its history, except the brief aberration over the past …
Governing Science And Technology Under The International Economic Order: Regulatory Divergence And Convergence In The Age Of Megaregionals By Shin-Yi Peng, Han-Wei Liu And Ching-Fu Lin, Henry S. Gao, Weihuan Zhou
Governing Science And Technology Under The International Economic Order: Regulatory Divergence And Convergence In The Age Of Megaregionals By Shin-Yi Peng, Han-Wei Liu And Ching-Fu Lin, Henry S. Gao, Weihuan Zhou
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Trade and technology have a long history of interdependence. It was the trade along the ancient silk road that helped to spread the technologies of China – such as paper-making, gun power, compass, and moveable type printing – to Europe. These technologies helped to launch the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Great Discoveries, which in turn set in motion globalization as we know today. As we enter the third decade of the twenty-first century, the role of science and technology grows even stronger in international trade. For example, the advancement of information and communications technology (ICT) has greatly facilitated the …
Rethinking China Trade Policy: Lessons Learned And Options Ahead, Henry S. Gao
Rethinking China Trade Policy: Lessons Learned And Options Ahead, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Looking back at the China trade policy of the Trump administration, the biggest lesson is that unilateralism simply doesn’t work, at least not against a major power like China. Despite the tumultuous two-and-half-year trade war and the Phase 1 deal hailed as an “unprecedented” deal promising “a more balanced trade relationship and a more level playing field for American workers and companies,” there has been little progress on the issues U.S. businesses and the Trump administration objected to in China’s trade and economic policies. It is not only the U.S. government that needs a more viable approach. Many companies would …
Rethinking Non-Recognition: The Eu’S Investment Agreement With Taiwan Under The One-China Policy, Pasha L. Hsieh
Rethinking Non-Recognition: The Eu’S Investment Agreement With Taiwan Under The One-China Policy, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article re-examines the theories of recognition and non-recognition in the context of the evolving framework of the European Union (EU)’s trade and investment relations with Taiwan from legal and international relations perspectives. Notwithstanding its one-China policy, the EU has developed a pragmatic approach to engaging Taiwan under bilateral consultations and World Trade Organization negotiations that have built the foundation for the bilateral investment agreement (BIA). The article argues that since the 1980s, the EU has accorded diverse forms of recognition to Taiwan and the BIA will buttress the process. To substantiate the contention, the article systemically explores the political …
A New Chinese Economic Law Order?, Greg Shaffer, Henry S. Gao
A New Chinese Economic Law Order?, Greg Shaffer, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
China is incrementally developing a new, decentralized model of trade governance through a web of finance, trade, and investment initiatives involving memorandum of understanding, contracts, and trade and investment treaties, supported by an indigenous innovation policy that is transnational in its reach. In this way, China could create a vast, Sino-centric, legal order in which the Chinese state plays the nodal role. It is a hub and spokes model, with China at the hub. In this article, we first examine China’s export of an infrastructure-based development model, implemented through Chinese state-owned and private enterprise investments and commercial contracts (Part B), …
Diversity Of Shareholder Stewardship In Asia: Faux Convergence, Gen Goto, Alan K. Koh, Dan W. Puchniak
Diversity Of Shareholder Stewardship In Asia: Faux Convergence, Gen Goto, Alan K. Koh, Dan W. Puchniak
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Since the UK adopted the world's first stewardship code in 2010, stewardship codes have proliferated across Asia. Given the UK Code's prominence, it is tempting to assume that every other stewardship code performs the same function as the UK Code. This assumption belies the truth: all these codes--regardless of whether they have in fact drawn inspiration from the UK Code--have taken different trajectories due to each adopting its jurisdiction's distinctive institutional and legal context.Using empirical evidence and in-depth case studies of stewardship in Japan and Singapore, this Article reveals how any reception of United Kingdom-style stewardship concepts is only skin …
Building A Market Economy Through Wto-Inspired Reform Of State-Owned Enterprises In China, Weihuan Zhou, Henry S. Gao, Xue Bai
Building A Market Economy Through Wto-Inspired Reform Of State-Owned Enterprises In China, Weihuan Zhou, Henry S. Gao, Xue Bai
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This paper responds to the widespread view that existing WTO rules are insufficient in dealing with China’s state capitalism, which has been further emboldened by its latest rounds of state-owned enterprise (“SOE”) reforms. Through a careful review of WTO agreements and jurisprudence, the paper argues that, we do not necessarily need new rules, because the unique challenges created by China’s state capitalism can be sufficiently dealt with by the WTO’s existing rules on subsidies coupled with the China-specific obligations. Thus, a more realistic approach would be to push China back to the path of market-oriented reforms through WTO litigation based …
Against Populist Isolationism: New Asian Regionalism And Global South Powers In International Economic Law, Pasha L. Hsieh
Against Populist Isolationism: New Asian Regionalism And Global South Powers In International Economic Law, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article provides the most up-to-date examination of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is poised to become the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA). It argues that the 16-country mega-FTA will galvanize the paradigm shift in Asian regionalism and build a normative foundation for the Global South in international economic law. Based on intertwined theoretical and substantive claims, this article opens an inquiry into the assertive legalism of developing nations in the new regional economic order. It further manifests the pivotal force of emerging economies against populist isolationism in the Trump era that undermines the neoliberal foundation of …
The Wto Transparency Obligations And China, Henry S. Gao
The Wto Transparency Obligations And China, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
When it acceded to the WTO in 2001, China accepted comprehensive transparency obligations as well as substantive commitments covering both market access and rules issues. Initially designed to deal with its opaque trade law regime, the transparency obligations were also expected to help democratize the legislative process and promote the development of the rule of law in China. Now that more than 15 years have passed, an important question is: have the transparency obligations delivered on their original promise? This article answers the question by reviewing how the transparency obligations have worked in practice. It notes that, while transparency has …
The Wto Transparency Obligations And China, Henry S. Gao
The Wto Transparency Obligations And China, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
When it acceded to the WTO in 2001, China accepted comprehensive transparency obligations as well as substantive commitments covering both market access and rules issues. Initially designed to deal with its opaque trade law regime, the transparency obligations were also expected to help democratize the legislative process and promote the development of the rule of law in China. Now that more than 15 years have passed, an important question is: have the transparency obligations delivered on their original promise? This article answers the question by reviewing how the transparency obligations have worked in practice. It notes that, while transparency has …