CEPA represents a move in the right direction for China to participate in the regional economic integration. One of serious defects of CEPA is that it has not set out a formal dispute settlement mechanism, so the absence of any specific dispute settlement procedures under the CEPA may lead to latent difficulty in the operation of CEPA in the future. There is a trend to resolve disputes through legal approaches in RTA dispute settlement mechanism. CAFTA and China-Chile FTA have established a rule-oriented mechanism under the arbitration pattern frame and they provide models for the dispute settlement mechanism of CEPA. So CEPA should learn from CAFTA, and establish dispute settlement rules including consultations, mediation and arbitration.