Published on 5 November 2025 in Client Alerts

China and Russia reportedly sign Bilateral Investment Treaty

Specialized press reported that on 8 May 2025, the Russian Federation (“Russia”) and the People’s Republic of China (“China”) reportedly signed a bilateral investment treaty “on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments” (“BIT”), to update and put an end to the 2006 bilateral investment treaty previously signed by the countries (“2006 Agreement”).

A signed version of the BIT reportedly published on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been made available online in Chinese, Russian and English languages.

Pursuant to the online text, the BIT was signed in Moscow on 8 May 2025, coinciding with the meeting held at the Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on that date, where the former described the relations between the two countries as “self-sustaining”.

Notwithstanding the signature of the BIT has yet to be confirmed, ratified, and approved pursuant to each country’s internal procedures before entering into force, the reportedly agreed text contains provisions for the settlement of investor-state disputes under UNCITRAL arbitration rules, and standards of protection which include: fair and equitable treatment, national treatment, most-favoured nation treatment, and protection from unlawful expropriation. It is yet to be confirmed when the BIT will enter into force, which could potentially signify an important step for the countries bilateral investment relations, almost twenty years after the 2006 Agreement came into force.

Volterra Fietta has been described as “The law firm which other law firms fear.”  If you would like to be added to Volterra Fietta’s invitation list for future events, please email your name and affiliation to info@volterrafietta.com.