Introduction – CAI’s Contribution to International Investment Law: European, Chinese, and Global Perspectives

The European Union and the People's Republic of China 'in principle' concluded the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). Considering that the agreement has been passed in the backdrop of dynamic multi-fora trade and investment policy-making practices, both parties' negotiations at the bilateral, multilateral and plurilateral levels require testing. This is important to understand whether the growth of bilateral and regional agreements and the fragmentation of international economic law are enablers or roadblocks to further liberalisation of international trade and investment. This Special Issue shall analyse the CAI and argue in favour of the importance of this development. It will examine the current hyper-politicisation and geo-politicisation of investment treaties to situate the symbolic importance of the CAI. In lieu of the uncertainty of final ratification of CAI and sanctions imposed by China, this article (and the whole Special Issue it introduces) are a timely academic contribution that shall trace its scope and potential effectiveness and enable much-needed discourse.