Research Article
China’s Path toModernization and Legal Pluralism: Transplants and the Belt and Road Initiative
Davide Giacomo Zoppolato；Paolo DavideFarah
Abstract
Beginning with theopening-up reforms of Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese government has treated law asa central tool for regulating the economy and guiding institutionaltransformation. Over the decades, since 1949, China’s path to modernization hasbeen marked by profound, experimental transformations that selectively combinedforeign expertise with Chinese foundations. A key feature of this process hasbeen China’s strategicadoption and adaptation of legal transplants. While initially a recipient offoreign legal models, China is now increasingly exporting its own approaches through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This article examines how China’s engagement in shaping thelegal and regulatory frameworks of host countries under the BRI differs fromtraditional models of legal transplants. Rather than imposing, China draws onits historical experience to adopt a pragmatic, adaptive strategy defined bythree core characteristics: the combination of Chinese and Western practices;an emphasis on voluntariness tempered by asymmetrical power relations; and aprioritization of policy objectives over autonomous legal principles. Whilethis strategy raises concerns about legal fragmentation and institutionalcoherence, it also fosters a space for legal pluralism, offering an alternativeto the homogenization typically associated with Global North legal transplants.
Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative, legal transplants, globalgovernance, legal development, legal pluralism, China
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is Not a Novel Approach toInternational Law-Making
Imad Antoine Ibrahim
Abstract
The Beltand Road Initiative (BRI) has advanced in various regions. While analyses havepredominantly focused on its political and economic impacts, its legal aspectsreceived less attention. This article explores whether the Chinese legal modelimplemented via the initiative represents a novel approach to internationallaw-making. The focus is on its application in the Middle East and NorthAfrica, where a set of primary mechanisms are utilised: soft law instrumentsthat establish a theoretical and practical framework for collaboration. Theauthor provides a comparative analysis of the European Union (EU) and UnitedStates (US) legal models, considering the overall pros and cons of Beijing’sstrategy. The article concludes that while these mechanisms represent apragmatic governance model relying on flexible rules, they are not a novelapproach. The US and the EU have employed such soft law instruments, underwhich binding agreements were established to ensure formal commitments.
Keywords: BRI, MENA region, softlaw mechanisms, agreements
The Digital Silk Road: “Tech-Diplomacy” as a Paradigm for UnderstandingTechnological Adoption and Emerging Digital Regulations in MENA
Andrew Mazen Dahdal；Adel Abdel Ghafar
Abstract
The Beltand Road Initiative (BRI) is a Chinese infrastructure and investment projectlaunched in 2013 that seeks to link China with over 70 countries throughtransport, communication, and trading networks. The BRI consists of buildingand construction projects including railways, ports, roads, and other vitaltrade infrastructure. Importantly, the BRI also includes the establishment of anew “Digital Silk Road” (DSR) enhancing digital connectivity using the latest5G high bandwidth, low latency mobile and satellite technology. In 2019,several Western states (notably USA, Australia, Canada, and the UK) bannedChinese telecommunications technology companies, such as Huawei, from rollingout 5G networks in their respective jurisdictions. The purported basis for thebans were security concerns over the ability of the Chinese government tocontrol and potentially intercept communications over the Huawei systems. Inthe MENA region, no such bans have been adopted and the DSR is proceeding toconnect MENA economies to China at a rapid pace. This places MENA countries ina precarious position between strategic links with the US as the global hegemonwith a strategic interest in the region, and the emerging Chinese globalpolitical and economic order. The regulation of digital communicationtechnologies is one dimension where legal frameworks must be designed with careand discernment to balance competing geopolitical forces. This article seeks toanswer the question of how best to understand the legal regulation of newtechnologies in the MENA region and argues that the conceptual lens of “Tech-diplomacy”helps to provide such an understanding. In addition to privacy-centric,security-centric, and growth-centric philosophical and jurisprudentialapproaches to understanding data regulation, the predicament of the MENA regionis a case study in how geopolitics can also inform our understanding of techregulation.
Keywords: China, MENA, Beltand Road, Digital Silk Road, data governance, tech-diplomacy
Sino-Arab Free Trade Agreements, AI Diplomacy, and the Realisation of AIand Sustainability Goals in the Middle East
Jon Truby
Abstract
Sino-ArabFree Trade Agreements (FTAs) have remained elusive over two decades ofincreasing economic relations and trade negotiations. Nevertheless, substantialinvestments and trade demonstrate the Arab region’s strategic importance toChina. Recent strategic drivers of China’s engagement with the Middle East haveevolved from an original energy security focus, to more recently integratingtechnological investments into partnerships, such as artificial intelligenceand renewable energy infrastructure—complicating progress towards an FTA. Suchmeasures can help progress achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals andoffer economic development opportunities, but negotiations may be hindered byconcerns ranging from technological dependency to trade competition. Examiningopportunities and challenges in the developing China-Arab relations, thearticle explores legal and policy obstacles and opportunities towards securingan FTA. With a focus on recent developments in AI and sustainabilitypartnerships, the article analyses legal strategies and international law bestpractices for a model FTA for Arab countries.
Keywords: Free TradeAgreements (FTAs), AI Diplomacy, Digital Silk Road, MENA, Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI), Sustainability
MENA Businessesand Global Trade: Conflicting Rule of Law Approaches and Transaction Costs
Henrik Andersen
Abstract: Businesses from the Middle East and North Africa(MENA) aiming for a global reach must navigate through different levels of ruleof law—with different degrees of strength—to access foreign markets. The ruleof law is essential from a business perspective as it reduces the costs oftransactions on the global market. However, the paper aims to demonstrate thatthere are transaction costs due to the frictions between the rules of law inthe multilevel system, which the MENA business must take into consideration inits search for contract partners and new markets. The focus is on the overallrule of law components of the World Trade Organization, the EuropeanNeighbourhood Policies, and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and theirinteraction.
Keywords: rule of law, transaction costs, MENAbusinesses, WTO’s rule of law, EU’s rule of law, China’s rule of law
The Impact of theBelt and Road Initiative on the Indigenous Communities in the Middle EastRegion: The Precarious Foundation of the Right to Consultation
Naimeh Masumy
Abstract: The ambitious Belt and Road Initiative isbelieved to boost the economic development of the Middle Eastern countries. Itsofficial framework aligns with the transformative vision of the 2030Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), advocating for the meaningful inclusionof indigenous communities in decision-making processes that could significantlyimpact their environments and livelihoods. Despite the essential spirit of theBelt and Road Initiative to promote inclusiveness and transparency consistentwith the principles of the UN Charter, the existing paradigm fails to providerobust and effective protection for the indigenous communities. This gap isfurther exacerbated with the absence of effective domestic legal mechanisms toprevent extractive projects from engaging in environmentally damaging projects,which in turn, subject the indigenous people living in the naturallyoil-and-gas-rich areas in the region to the adverse consequences of anunregulated oil and gas industry. The article contends that the right toconsultation within the Belt and Road Initiative framework currently lacksbinding obligations for financial enterprises and companies to upholdpreferential standards for indigenous populations, rendering it legallyineffective. It concludes by proposing an alternative framework aimed atensuring the meaningful realization of these rights in a more pragmatic andeffective manner.
Keywords: Extractive projects, right toconsultation, indigenous communities, One Belt One Road Initiative, MiddleEastern region
China’s Belt andRoad Initiative and Its Impact on the Energy Independence of the European Union
Paolo Davide Farah；Davide Giacomo Zoppolato
Abstract: In 2013, President XiJinping announced the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aimed atpositioning China at the forefront of the global economy. Central to the BRI isthe pursuit of energy security—a long-standing priority linked to diplomacy andessential for China’s continued growth. To meet its rising energy needs, Chinahas launched numerous infrastructure development projects, with energy playinga key role within the broader BRI framework. Similarly, since the oil crisis ofthe 1970s, the European Union (EU) has prioritised energy security throughinvestments in alternative energy sources and resource diversification. Thisarticle explores the shared interests of these two economic powers in securingand investing in alternative energy. It focuses on a central question: howmight the BRI align with the EU’s Neighborhood Policy to strengthen energyindependence across Eurasia and generate mutual benefit? This analysis examinesboth the challenges and the opportunities for collaboration and synergy.
Keywords: China, European Union, Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI), energy independence, energy security
友情链接：
专辑前言原文链接：
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/asian-journal-of-law-and-society/article/editorial-arent-we-sick-and-tired-of-this-broken-system-called-international-law/93BF13160BABB9C678921BBAE58F5124
《亚洲法与社会杂志》2025年第2期链接：
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/asian-journal-of-law-and-society/issue/2F2BE9AB33ED7A4EB4492BC220CD07FF
《亚洲法与社会杂志》官网链接：
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/asian-journal-of-law-and-society