Multilateral Investment System And The Multinational Corporations In Services

Multilateral Investment System refers to the wide range of investment-related international institutions and multilateral agreements, which are accepted or participated by most countries of the world. It is an international institutional framework to standardize the conduct and treatment of investors, promote the investment protection, and settle investment disputes.The competitive advantage of multinational enterprises in services is derived from its identification, selection and cultivation of related resources, capabilities and knowledge, especially from the creation, possession and maintaining of some heterogenic and intangible resources. What is different from the multinational enterprises in manufacture is that the free market and safe international business environment plays a much more important role in competitive advantage of multinational enterprises in services. It is because that, on the one hand, multinational enterprises in services has higher dependence on international markets. its main purpose is to serve the international business and occupation of the local market. On the other hand, the competitive advantage of multinational enterprises in services are derived from intangible resources including trademarks, goodwill, proprietary information, technology of services, management capacity and so on. The creating and maintaining of intangible resources needs a more secure external environment.This article shows that multilateral investment system has created a gradually liberalizing international market and relatively safer business environment. It is helpful to the development of the service sector MNEs. To be specific, a series of multilateral agreements, especially the General Agreement on Trade in Services, have created a gradually liberalizing international market for the service sector MNEs. They are helpful to the innovating and accumulating of knowledge and technology. They have been deepening of the international division of labor services between MNEs. Meanwhile, the"Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights"and some other multilateral agreements have created and cultivated a relatively safer business environment for MNEs in services. It also expands the development space for services MNEs. The author uses the above conclusions to analyze China's service industry enterprises. The study shows that, on the one hand, the multilateral investment system will make China's enterprises in service face fierce competition from powerful MNEs. The survival and development of them will counter unprecedented challenges; On the other hand, the free international market will...