Chapter Eight: Protection of Chinese Investments in Colombia: The PRC-Colombia BIT
| Autor | Andrés Cárdenas Muñoz |
| Cargo del Autor | Law degree from Universidad Externado de Colombia |
| Páginas | 235-270 |
235
chapter eight
protection of chinese investments in colombia:
the prc-colombia bit
andréS CárdEnaS Muñoz*
SuMMary. 1. Presentation; 2. Binational investment flows;
2.1. Accumulated investment flow: China to Colombia;
2.2. Accumulated direct investment flow from Colombia to
China, 2004 – 2015; 3. Colombia’s bilateral treaties: structure
and comparative view with the People’s Republic of China
– Republic of Colombia bit; 3.1. Preamble; 3.2. Definitions;
3.2.1. Definition of “Investment”; 3.2.2. Definition of “In-
vestor”; 3.2.3. Scope of application; 3.2.4. Protection and
promotion of foreign direct investment; 3.2.5. Standards of
treatment; 4. Conclusions; 5. References
abStr aCt. The investment relationship between the
People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Colombia
has increased significantly in the last decade. As such, both
* Law degree from Universidad Externado de Colombia. llM in Comparative
and International Dispute Settlement, Queen Mary and Westfield College,
University of London. Executive Mba Kellog – Guanghua. Founding Partner
1493 Law Firm. Director of the International Contracts and Dispute Resolution
Research Group (CyrCi, for its initials in Spanish) of the Business Law Depart-
ment at Universidad Externado de Colombia. andres@cardenasmunoz.com
236 Andrés Cárdenas Muñoz
nations have sought to protect their national investments
in the other country, and encourage foreign direct invest-
ment (fdi) in their own territories. Evidence of this is the
Bilateral Investment Treaty (bit) between the People’s
Republic of China and the Republic of Colombia, which
entered into force in 2013. Carrying out this bit analysis
allows us to observe the protection standards that China
and Colombia have chosen to promote and protect for-
eign direct investment reciprocally when compared to
investment protection standards in other International
Investment Agreements (iias) concluded by Colombia.
Furthermore, considering the recent investment disputes
involving Colombia, the bit between the People’s Republic
of China and the Republic of Colombia might provide an
important tool for the defense of Chinese investments in
Colombia via the dispute settlement mechanism therein
contained.
KEy WordS. Bilateral Investment Treaty (bit); bit be-
tween the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of
Colombia; Foreign Direct Investment (fdi).
1. PrESEntation
This paper is the result of the presentation related to In-
ternational Investment Arbitration in Colombia, in the
framework of the analysis of investment relations between
China and Colombia, which took place at Universidad
Externado de Colombia on October 3, 2016. The purpose
of the presentation (Called: International Investment Arbi-
tration in Colombia) was to show the level of investment
protections derived from the Bilateral Investment Treaty
between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic
of Colombia for Chinese investment in Colombia. Accord-
ingly, the methodology in this text will be: 1. To show the
bi-national relationship regarding investment flows, and 2.
to offer a comparative view of the tendencies for investment
237
Protection of Chinese Investments in Colombia: The prc-Colombia bit
protection in this bit and those of other bits concluded by
Colombia.
2. binational invEStMEnt floWS
2.1. Accumulated investment flow: China to Colombia
1,7
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2015 2015
3,8
11,8 13,5 12,1 8,8 9,4
32,6
67,3
75,9
111,9 116,1
In accordance with balance of payments
Million
USD
Source: Authors, taken from official numbers published by the Colombian Central
Bank (Banco de la República).
This table shows the behavior of the investment flow from
China to Colombia in the last 12 years. Taking into ac-
count that the bit between the People’s Republic of China
and the Republic of Colombia entered into force in 2013,
it is evident that in the two years following this event,
fdi from China to Colombia increased exponentially, and
continued to increase until reaching an all-time record of
uSd $116,100,000 in 2015. The purpose of promoting and
protecting foreign investment between these two countries
has been effective, given that the Chinese investors’ trust
in Colombia has increased.
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