The book, edited by University of Helsinki scholars Professor Kimmo Nuotio and Doctoral Candidate Kangle Zhang, is an international collaboration with Chinese scholars.
Professor Shan Wenhua, Dean of the School of Law and founding Director of the Silk Road Institute for International and Comparative Law (SRIICL) at Xi’an Jiaotong University, also co-edited the publication.
The edited volume of 12 chapters provides normative readings on China’s foreign affairs ‘master plan’ and signature policy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative.
‘The book focuses on aspects of the so-called ‘New Silk Road’ Initiative that we thought deserved more attention, such as issues relating to culture and legal philosophy, environmental law and protection, social responsibility, and the rule of law, judiciary and the role of lawyers’, Professor Nuotio says.
The conference will focus on issues related to the so-called ‘Belt and Road Initiative’, a major international development and infrastructure project of the Chinese government and a signature policy of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Four themes will be addressed during the conference: (1) The legal and sustainability significance of the BRI (2) National, regional and global dimensions (3) Specific fields of law and sustainability; and (4) Practitioners’ legal perspectives.
The conference language is English. Selected papers of the conference will be published in English.
The deadline for abstracts (500 words) is 11 June 2018.
The deadline for draft papers (5000 – 10000 words) is 15 September 2018.
Abstracts and draft papers should be sent to Maria Lundberg at the University of Oslo at a.m.c.lundberg (at) nchr.uio.no.
More information
For more information, please contact Maria Lundberg at the University of Oslo on a.m.c.lundberg (at) nchr.uio.no or Magnus Jorem at the Nordic Center, Fudan University on magnus (at) nordiccentre.net.
To mark the start of Nordic China Law Week 2018, on 17 April 2018 the Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki hosted a seminar on the theme ‘Trade Governance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements’.
Professor Cheng’s keynote presentation addressed issues including the economic logic of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative, value choices of its trade governance and the OBOR Initiative’s institutional and legal arrangements.
‘After assuming office, President Xi Jinping emphasized the value of global governance research’, Professor Cheng said.
‘Since the proposal and implementation of OBOR, China has introduced a number of new terms associated with global governance, such as ‘connectivity’ and ‘three communities of common destiny’. Collectively, these terms form China’s unique ideology on global governance’.
Professor Cheng said that OBOR is the largest regional cooperation initiative ever, covering Asia, Europe, and Africa.
‘At one end is the active East Asian economic circle, and at the other is the developed European economic circle, collectively involving over 60 countries, 60% of the global population, and a third of the world’s gross domestic product’.
Professor Cheng said that OBOR ‘respects the existing rules and frameworks of the multilateral system and has not been established to disrupt this system’.
‘On the contrary, China remains one of the strongest supporters of the existing multilateral system’.
At the same time, Professor Cheng argued that ‘based on the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), China should establish OBOR trade governance theories that supplement, subdue, and innovate existing multilateral trade governance theories’.
‘The advancement and progress of OBOR should perpetually abide by WTO rules and accept the constraints established by the WTO’, Professor Cheng emphasized.
Professor Cheng concluded by noting that OBOR is a national trade strategy and does not contain mandatory laws.
‘Therefore, the existing rules of the WTO provide institutional support for OBOR’.
In his remarks, seminar moderator Dr Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaça of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki thanked Professor Cheng for speaking during the opening of Nordic China Law Week 2018, summarized the core aspects of Professor Cheng’s address and challenged several of the arguments she advanced during her talk.
A lively discussion ensued between Professor Cheng, Dr Vilaça and seminar participants.