What is the Current Formal Legal Environment for Foreign Companies in China in the Light of the Phase 1 Trade Agreement?

This thesis employs doctrinal legal analysis methods by using laws, regulations and legal theories, to evaluate the current protections of intellectual property rights for foreign investors in mainland China. In this thesis, it compares the current Chinese laws and regulations on intellectual property protections with its international Fair and Equitable Treatment principles, previous laws, and Phase 1 Trade Agreement. It concludes that Phase 1 Trade Agreement has been implemented mostly in the current Chinese laws, which also have been improved fundamentally to protect foreign investors’ interests and rights. However, given the backgrounds on rule of law in China, this thesis also recognises the formations of Chinese laws are different from those perceived by the Western societies. Therefore, even though China has strive to cohere the standards of international investment law, its laws are still relatively lacking in preciseness and predictability, clarity and effective enforcement.