From CFIUS to Outbound Investment Screening: Paradigm Shift and Legal Challenges of the U.S. Investment Screening Regime

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jel.202614214

Author(s)

Huimin Zhu*

Affiliation(s)

School of Law, University of International Relations, Beijing, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

Amid the expanding purview of national security and transforming international economic governance, the United States’ outbound investment security review mechanism is undergoing a profound transformation—from a traditional territorially defensive paradigm centered on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to a new, extraterritorially proactive paradigm characterized by outbound investment screening. Through a systematic examination of the evolutionary trajectory and underlying legal logic of this paradigm shift, this article analyzes the legal foundations, core elements, and procedural features of the U.S. outbound investment security review mechanism. It further explores the multiple challenges that this transformation poses to both domestic and international legal orders. The study aims to provide theoretical support and strategic guidance for China’s responses from the perspectives of enhancing the resilience of the rule of law and advancing institution-based openness.

Keywords

CFIUS; Outbound Investment Screening; Paradigm Shift

References

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