Third-party funding regulations in international investment arbitration in China: Analysing the CIETAC rules

Introducing Art. 48 of the 2024 China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) Arbitration Rules is a giant move towards China adopting third-party funding (TPF) in international investment arbitration. CIETAC contains the TPF arrangements by making them disclosed, which is why its rules are consistent with the international standards established by the International Centre of Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). This action improves the image of CIETAC and serves the interests of China to turn into a neutral and transparent place, which is one of the objectives of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) our cross-border transactions are becoming complicated and expensive. Even though the disclosure requirement as per Art. 48 is a good move towards transparency in the procurement processes and minimizing conflicts of interest, there are a number of limitations. This regulation is based on self-disclosure and does not provide a separate validation process, which predetermines the opportunity to omit information partially or strategically by the parties. Furthermore, the regulations fail to explain the extent of influence the funders will have over conflicts. This brings up the issue of funders possibly promoting the early settlements or disincentivizing resources-consuming legal strategies. The article provides a comparison between the framework of CIETAC and the international arbitration practices. It challenges that CIETAC should conduct further reforms to promote procedural fairness and ensure the confidence of investors. Some of the reforms suggested to address the issue are more vigorous enforcement of non-disclosure, creation of verifiable control systems, and more explicit guidelines that will restrict the power of funders. Through constant modifications of its rules and keeping in line with the best practices across the world, CIETAC will be able to establish itself as one of the foremost arbitral institutions with the capacity to rise to the rising demands of TPF in cross-border investment disputes. © Wu Tongdi, 2026.