China’s contestation of international norms on state-owned enterprises and government procurement through the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Belt and Road Initiative is a vast infrastructure project that extensively relies on public procurement contracts, which are often secured by Chinese state-owned enterprises. Amidst the various consequences that the initiative entails on global governance, this article explores the Belt and Road Initiative’s impact on the development of international norms that have recently emerged beyond the multilateral framework to address state-owned enterprises and government procurement. By combining international relations theory and international economic law, the article argues that the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative constitutes a contestation of international norms that do not align with China’s state-directed economic model. After recalling key elements of norm contestation, it addresses the elaboration of disciplines pertaining to state-owned enterprises and government procurement at the regional and plurilateral levels. It then demonstrates that China – through its discourse, the implementation of Belt and Road Initiative projects and reactions from other states – can be considered as a ‘norm antipreneur’ that challenges these international norms.