Considering the large number of civil, commercial and investment disputes that arise between Chinese investors and their counterparts along the Belt and Road, it is necessary to establish a dispute settlement mechanism. The open, cooperative and non-institutionalized features of the Belt and Road Initiative require the reform and improvement of China’s domestic dispute settlement mechanism for foreign civil, commercial and investment disputes; and bilateral and multilateral dispute settlement mechanisms between or among China and the Belt and Road countries should be strengthened. When appropriate, China may propose the establishment of a multilateral dispute settlement mechanism that is especially designed for the Initiative. The status quo of dispute settlement mechanisms between China and the Belt and Road countries necessitates the establishment of a preset mechanism that uses arbitration as the primary approach, litigation as the secondary approach, and mediation as an alternative.

1. Introduction
 II. The Necessity for the Establishment of A BR Dispute Settlement Mechanism
 III. Two Starting Points for Establishing a BR Dispute Settlement Mechanism
  A. The Features of the BRI
  B. Status quo of the Dispute Settlement Legal Framework amongthe BR Countries
 IV. Ways to Establish a BR DisputeSettlement Mechanism
  A. The Improvement of China’s Foreign-related Civil, Commercial andInvestment Dispute Settlement Mechanism
  B. Facilitation of a Bilateral Dispute Settlement Mechanism betweenChina and Other BR Countries
  C. Proposal to Build a Multilateral Dispute Settlement Mechanismamong the BR countries
 V. Conclusion
 References

• Weidong Zhu(Xiangtan Univ.)