Full Description
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investment continued apace in 2025.
At a time when global trade and investment are under geopolitical
and economic pressure, BRI is booming.
Official sources have put the total level of construction and
investment contracts under the initiative at USD 1 trillion, while in
the first half of 2025, the total figure was reported to be USD 124
billion, more than the whole of 2024, according to a study by Griffith
University in Australia and the Green Finance & Development
Center in China.
While interest in Latin American projects is down, investment in
Central and Southeast Asia is particularly high, and Africa is also
faring well, with Nigeria alone hosting a USD 1 billion motorway
project.
The contrast with Western investment, at a time of US tariffs
and difficult relationships between Europe and the Global South,
is striking.
Projects and investment on this scale usually bring disputes, and
while the overall emphasis appears to remain conciliatory, there
are well-established dispute resolution mechanisms around Asia,
as detailed in this guide, including in China. The 2025 International
Arbitration Survey by Queen Mary University of London and White &
Case found Beijing to be the fourth most popular arbitral seat in the
world, after London, Hong Kong and Singapore. Given this popularity
and the scale of the investment, the potential for disputes in
Chinese and Asian fora remains high.
Four years into the production of this Essential Intelligence guide,
it is clear that BRI is not going away.
My thanks, as always, to our Contributing Editors, Dr Colin Ong
KC, Walter Chen SC of Grandall Law Firm and Stephen Jagusch KC
of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP.
For more on dispute resolution in China, Asia and the rest of the
world, please visit www.cdr-news.com
Contents
EXPERT ANALYSIS CHAPTERS
6 The 'Legal Belt and Road': how Chinese law is being written into global contracts
Rob Harkavy Commercial Dispute Resolution
8 Building up on nine years of case management experience: SIAC introduces SIAC Rules 2025
Xuanzhong Wang SIAC
14 Drafting effective arbitration clauses for the Belt and Road Initiative
Steven Jagusch KC
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
32 Proposed dispute settlement mechanism for BRI disputes along the Belt and Road Initiative
Dr Colin Ong KC Dr Colin Ong Legal Services
44 Multi-party and multi-contract BRI disputes at HKIAC
Joanne Lau & Xuan Yao HKIAC
56 ICC as a shield: overcoming BRI dispute challenges for chinese electrical equipment companies
Qing (Robin) Zhou, Lei Shi & Vera He ICC
JURISDICTION CHAPTERS
64 Brunei
Dr Colin Ong KC Dr Colin Ong Legal Services
80 China
Tammy (Zhe) Chen & Walter (Fayun) Chen
Grandall Law Firm
92 Hong Kong
John Rhie, Tom Brebner & Nicholas Lee
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
102 Indonesia
Elsie Hakim, Oene J. Marseille, Aris Budi Prasetiyo & Kevin Sidharta AGI Legal
118 Israel
Gilad Katz & Lance Blumenthal S. Horowitz & Co.
130 Japan
Shin-Ichiro Abe Kasumigaseki International Law Office
Yoshihiro Takatori Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
140 Malaysia
Dzuhairi Jaafar Thani, Jack Yow, Chen Lee Won &
Joycelyn Ang Rahmat Lim & Partners
154 Myanmar
Minn Naing Oo Allen & Gledhill (Myanmar) Co., Ltd.
Kang Yanyi Allen & Gledhill
164 Singapore
Yong Kai Chang, Afzal Ali, Ho Pey Yann &
Zhao Jiawei Allen & Gledhill LLP
