Is Hong Kong ready for the One Belt, One Road ‘goldrush’? Barry Fletcher reports
Two subjects dominated the early stages of Hong Kong’s sixth annual Arbitration Week: the high winds and lashing rain of tropical storm Khanun as it swept towards the Special Administrative Region, and China’s behemoth ‘One Belt, One Road Initiative’ (OBOR). It was clear that while Khanun’s effects were fleeting, the actual and potential impact of OBOR is a force to reckon with in Asia and beyond. This article considers Hong Kong’s ability to capitalise on dispute resolution work arising, now or in the future, out of OBOR disputes, with a focus on commercial arbitration and mediation.
OBOR & dispute resolution
Although originally conceived by China in 2013, OBOR (or the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’) is firmly on the current global agenda, and refers to the Chinese government’s significant investment and development strategy with the expressed intention of promoting economic co-operation among countries along OBOR routes. OBOR aims to connect Asia, Europe and Africa via land and sea and, while the opportunities for trade and investment along the ‘Belt and
