CLD/CALS Workshop: “Chinese Law and Development: Views from Asia and Beyond”

May 29 & 30, 2023

Organized by the CLD project and the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law

The extent to which the “China model” of development, whether in the form of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, or multilateral institutions such as the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, offers an alternative to (neo)liberal models of development is being hotly debated in the popular press, academia, and policy circles. However, to date, there has been inadequate attention to the legal dimensions of China’s overseas development, including the capital that finances projects abroad. This workshop aimed to convene experts to discuss the extent to which China is building a new international legal order, and potentially shaping legal and regulatory developments in host states. The participants presented on different dimensions of Chinese outbound capital, whether investment, loans, or aid, and their normative effects on the legal and economic systems of recipient states. Seeking a balanced perspective between host and home states, participants came from host states in Asia and Africa and from the home state of China, and the event provided a timely opportunity to bring experts together from different jurisdictions to help advance the comparative study of Chinese law and development.