The Evolution Of International Investment Rules And China's Investment Legislation

Accompanied with the integration of the world economy and the rapid development of foreign investment, people increasingly concern about the issues of foreign investment. However , historically , policies and attitudes towards liberalization of investment have been subject to considerable flux and controversy. Recognition of economic benefits of foreign investment liberalization sometimes clashes with worry about loss of national sovereignty as well as other potential adverse consequences.Nevertheless, regardless of the remaining wariness about the adverse effects of foreign investment, one significant feature of the world economy in recent decades has been the growth of foreign direct investment (FDD . This trend accords with recent liberalization of foreign investment policies in most countries. Controversially, despite the potential benefits from liberalization of investment and its impressive growth worldwide, there are still some barriers and distortions.Given some limitations of the current international investment framework, to further promote the development of foreign investment and to better protect foreign investors, increasing interest is on the issue of the desirability of a multilateral general agreement on investment ( MGAI) that is legally binding on investment principles and rules. However, it is a hot issue for the debate whether such a framework is necessary and possible in the present global environment.Focusing on the debate, this paper argues that global economy integration consequently demands the efficient movement of cross-border capital flows, and a multilateral investment agreement which offers general principles and rules regarding investment policies will further enhance and guarantee market access for transnational corporations (TNCs), and at the end will benefit the world economy. Therefore, although it is arduous to negotiate an MGAI in terms of divarication among different countries and failures experienced by the international community, it is still necessary...