A Review of China’s Sustainable Development Goals through International Investment Agreements

Summary

This article reviews the place of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in China’s international investment agreements, examining treaty texts to assess how far sustainability has entered Chinese treaty practice. It finds that, while the broader stock of Chinese agreements contains few dedicated sustainable development provisions, a growing number of recent treaties show a discernible shift towards sustainability-oriented drafting. The article traces that shift through specific mechanisms: preambular references to sustainable development, provisions on investor obligations and corporate social responsibility, and clauses preserving the host State’s space to regulate in matters of environment, labour and public health. It situates these developments within the wider evolution of international investment law, where drafters increasingly balance investment protection against the host State’s development objectives, and considers what further reform would be needed for Chinese practice to reflect the Goals more fully.