BAC Energy Symposium Successfully held
Publish time: Mon Jun 26 17:20:49 CST 2017
On the afternoon of May 24 2017, the Beijing Arbitration Commission / Beijing International Arbitration Center (the “BAC”) held a symposium themed “Influence of Brexit, Trump’s presidency and European Populism on Chinese Overseas Investment”. The event was moderated by Dr. Zhang Libin. Ms. Ana Stanič, Founding Partner of the E&A Law, was invited to act as the keynote speaker, who provided an interpretation of the changes of international politics, and analyses on the relationship between geopolitics and law, as well as the influence thereof on Chinese overseas investment.
The Symposium
Ms. Ana Stanič firstly introduced the international background of the Brexit and Trump’s presidency. The world order post World War II has been far from reaching a balanced state, and the process of the globalization has resulted in a growing gap between rich and poor around the globe. Among the OECD countries, the United States, Germany, Japan and France are all facing a slowing down family income growth rate, to varying degrees. From the financial tsunami in 2008, the middle class of those developed countries has started to realize that the promotion of free trade policy might do more harm than good. The refugee crisis burst out in Europe shortly thereafter further contributed to the prevalence of the European populism. Under such a background, the Brexit and Trump’s winning the presidency were by no accident.
The Brexit indicates that the UK will participate in international affairs independently. On one hand, this independence provided the UK with a freer hand from the restriction of the EU. On the other hand, however, it will bring huge pressures and challenges to the UK. Taking the area of investment and trade as an example, the free trade treaties to which the EU is a signatory shall no longer apply to the UK due to the Brexit. Although the UK could finish the whole process of exiting the EU within two years pursuant to the Lisbon Treaty, it usually takes several years from the negotiation to the final conclusion of free trade treaties. Thus it is undoubtedly a huge challenge for the UK, as a new entity, to promote free trade negotiations and reach new treaties thereon within the two years transitional period. A series of legal changes resulted from the Brexit will also enlarge the investment risks for Chinese investors. In light of this, it is highly possible that incautious investors might suffer huge losses.
Ms. Ana Stanič
Next to the Brexit, Trump’s coming into presidency brought more unpredictability to the existing world order. During his presidency, either the Paris Agreement on the reduction of climate change, or the free trade treaties related to the global trade order, may have to meet challenges. The keynote speaker thought that Trump’s presidency indicates the United States’ political tendency today. Trump himself just expressed the political claims favored by nowadays American society in a more direct manner.
In view of the issues of national security, terrorism, refugee crisis and the globalization, the establishment of a multilateral mechanism and the global governance may be the only solution. However, the key point lies in what a short term we can build up a more effective multilateral mechanism from institutional innovation. The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China may create new opportunities for global governance. The Belt and Road Initiative aimed at the promotion of regional cooperation, so as to reach a win-win situation among multiple parties. It is also helpful to set up a safer and better guaranteed investment environment for investors.
Prof. Zha Daojiong
At the invitation of the organizer, Prof. Zha Daojiong of the Peking University acted as the commentator. He pointed out that this was an informative event, which covered a wide range of regional issues concerning Europe and the United States, and provided different perspectives for studies on geopolitics. To some extent, the change of world political order today is a repetition of history.
Dr. Zhang Libin
Moderated by Dr. Zhang Libin, the audience had in-depth discussions and exchanges with the speakers on issues such as the Brexit and the prevalence of nationalism, the status of London as a world financial center, investment arbitration under the Energy Charter, the energy policy in Europe and the Chinese investment in energy, the restructure of Chinese energy system and the reform of the oil-gas industry.
The energy industry is specially affected by the geopolitics. The BAC held this symposium for the purpose of providing different perspective to colleagues from different industries, and establishing a platform for exchange and studies. We sincerely invite colleagues from various industries to pay attention to and participate in similar events organized by the BAC. You are welcome to pay attention to the BAC’s website and WeChat platform for more information.