Rules of International Investment

On July 11, 2013, US President Barack Obama met with Vice Premier Wang Yang, the Special Representative of President Xi Jinping, during the fifth round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue in the White House in Washington, DC. This event coincided with the Edward Snowden incident. During the meeting, Obama looked gloomy and angry, and openly expressed his disappointment that Chinese Hong Kong had released Snowden earlier. Upon learning that the negotiations on the China-US investment agreement had made significant progress and that the Chinese government had agreed to engage in substantive negotiations with the US, based on the pre-establishment national treatment and the introduction of a negative list approach, Obama's tone improved quickly and he looked pleased. He applauded China's efforts to drive negotiations on the China-US investment treaty. On July 12, 2013, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce published a newsman's remarks in a prominent position on its website, stating that during the fifth round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Washington, DC on 10 July to 11 July, the Chinese side had agreed to engage in substantive negotiations with the US on an investment treaty based on the pre-establishment national treatment and a negative list approach. After seeing the news, an expert pointed out immediately that this means that the opening up of China's markets has moved on to a new historical phase and its significance is comparable to the year China joined the WTO.