The EUI International Economic Law and Policy Working Group and the EU Law Working Group host an event with Professor Bin Ye (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences).
In this session, Professor Ye will present his ongoing research on the changing nature of EU External Economic Relations Law. Professor Ulrich Petersmann, together with EUI PhD researchers Lukas Schaupp and Miguel Mota Delgado, will join as discussants.
Abstract:
'De-risking' is how the European Commission recently reframed its strategic policy objectives with regard to China. This reflects an increasing trend over the last years, whereby the EU adopted a variety of legislative instruments across a number of policy areas to become more assertive in its relationship with the outside world. This shift becomes particularly evident in the Union’s trade and investment toolbox. Since 2016, when the EU amended its anti-dumping rules to address the non-market economy status of China, the EU has introduced a range of legal measures such as investment screening, foreign subsidy regulations, supply chain due diligence legislation, the international procurement instrument, anti-economic coercion instrument, and a potentially forthcoming proposal on outbound investment control. Although these are not explicitly aimed at a particular country, these legal instruments were often negotiated in the context of EU-China relations.
This event aims to introduce Chinese perspectives on these legal, but increasingly politicised questions. For this purpose, Professor Bin Ye from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences will present his research on the (currently frozen) EU-China bilateral investment treaty (the 'Comprehensive Agreement on Investment') as well as on a range of EU unilateral legal instruments, as mentioned above. Within this context, Professor Ye will delve into the inquiry of whether these unilateral measures ultimately contribute to a trade arms race akin to 'lawfare' or if the rule-based application of autonomous measures can pave the way for a novel albeit potentially fragile order in the global trade regime.
About the speaker:
Bin Ye is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department for European Union Law, at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). He holds the position of Secretary General at the Chinese Society of European Legal Studies. Professor Ye obtained his PhD in Law at Wuhan University, China, and afterwards served as a Jean Monnet Fellow at the EUI between 2014 and 2015. His recent research centres around key aspects of international trade and investment law, with a focus on critical subjects such as the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) between the EU and China, ISDS reforms, as well as recent legal developments in EU external relations law. In a contribution to the EU law study in China, Professor Ye published the Chinese translation of EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials by Craig and de Búrca in 2023, reflecting his commitment to the dissemination of knowledge and building bridges between the EU and Chinese legal community.