20/06/2025
In an opinion article published in Financial Times on June 20, 2025, Professor Julien Chaisse analyses how both the United States and China have transformed foreign direct investment (FDI) law into a tool of industrial strategy and coercive diplomacy. He argues that what began as targeted industrial policy has evolved into “legal warfare,” with each side using investment rules to reshape supply chains, control key technologies, and pursue political objectives.
Highlighting examples from China’s Made in China 2025 initiative and the US’s America First Investment Policy, Professor Chaisse notes that state control is increasingly replacing market logic, creating instability in the foundations of international investment law. He warns that selective enforcement, shifting regulations, and politically motivated screening measures undermine investor confidence, depress cross-border projects, and threaten innovation.
According to him, these trends are drawing third countries into the rivalry, often through economic pressure or legal alignment, stretching the investment law system to a breaking point.
Julien Chaisse, “Statecraft has hijacked investment rules”, Financial Times, June 20, 2025.
Read the full article here: https://www.ft.com/content/0f19b7e5-9c9a-4f31-a230-3a20c7a59319
