China Upgrades Bilateral Investment Treaties to Promote its Growing Outbound Investment

Being a major recipient and an important source of foreign direct investment (FDI), China shifted its policy focus from attracting FDI inflow to facilitating and protecting outbound FDI. The shift is reflected in China's efforts to negotiate and to upgrade its bilateral investment treaties (BITs), especially the decision to revive the China-US BIT negotiations. This is important as the United States has become a significant designation for China's outbound FDI; numerous challenges however remain.