The Chinese government announced on March 13, 2018, that it will consolidate the duties of three competition agencies into a new government agency to handle all antitrust matters. While it is too early to tell how this reorganization will impact China’s review of transactions and conduct cases, we believe that this change could lead to greater consistency and potentially more experienced attorneys reviewing competition matters.
by John Z.L. Huang, Alex An, Bryan Fu and Cook Xu
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently outlined its latest efforts in the enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law and price supervision. This newsletter summarizes the noteworthy information NDRC disclosed.
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld, Alex An and Jared Nelson
Recently Shanghai High People’s Court reached a decision in the first lawsuit involving resale price maintenance (RPM) since China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) came into effect five years ago. Shortly thereafter, a key enforcement agency announced RPM-related fines against six milk powder companies, five of which are non-Chinese. Both cases clearly show that RPM can be a violation of the AML, and that RPM is currently under much greater scrutiny by enforcement authorities. It would be prudent for all foreign corporations active in China’s consumer markets to take heed of these changes in China and conduct an immediate review of any potential RPM violations.
To read the full article, click here.
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld, Jared Nelson and Sean Pan
Several major actions taken against price-fixing cartels by China’s enforcement authorities in the last year have sent a clear message that this is not a temporary campaign. It is a new reality.
To read the full article, click here.
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld, Alex An, Brian Fu and Angel Wang
McDermott Will & Emery has released the latest China Law Alert: Focus on Competition, which provides insight on current issues surrounding cross-border antitrust and transactional issues.
China’s New Merger Control Regime Makes Major Progress in Its First Three Years
It is now just more than three years since China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) was introduced. Compared with the well-established practices of US antitrust and EU competition authorities, AML enforcement is still in its infancy. However, China’s AML regulators, especially the authority in charge of merger control, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), has moved quickly to make its mark on international business. Now, most large, cross-border mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures must also successfully pass the rigors of review by MOFCOM as well as the European Commission and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and/or Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Read the full article here.
NDRC and SAIC’s Actions in 2011 and Prospects in 2012
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) are the two authorities in charge of investigation and supervision of “monopoly” agreements and abuses of dominant market position. NDRC focuses on price-related cases while SAIC takes care of non-price related violations of the law. Compared to MOFCOM, which is responsible for merger control, NDRC and SAIC have been relatively quite since China’s AML came into force on 1 August 2008. Read the full article here.
Civil Litigation under China’s Anti-Monopoly Law
Since the introduction of the China AML in August 2008, Chinese courts have experimented with various methods of civil dispute adjudication based on breach of the AML. In general, China’s courts have very limited judicial experience with such cases. A number of civil cases have been brought before the courts, but very few, if any, have resulted in a successful judgment for breach of the AML. Read the full article here.
Might the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Become A New Enforcement Authority for China’s Competition Laws?
In addition to MOFCOM, SAIC and NDRC, the three major enforcement authorities for the anti-unfair competition and anti-monopoly laws, it seems the MIIT might also become a regulator of competition in the telecommunications sector. In addition to a Draft Regulation on Internet Information Services, published for consultation in January 2012, MIIT released an “Opinion on Regulating the Business Activities of Basic Telecommunications Carriers on Campuses” (the Opinion) on 30 June 2011. Read the full article here.
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld and Brian Fu
China’s National Development and Reform Committee recently imposed the largest fine ever on a sodium hydrosulphite manufacturer for price fixing and other anticompetitive activities.
To read the full article, click here.
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld and Alex An
Recently,China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) imposed large fines on two pharmaceutical distributors. This move indicates the enforcement agency, which supervises price-related monopolistic practices, is beginning to take a more active role in enforcing the country’s Anti-Monopoly Law.
To read the full article, click here.
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld and Michael Xu
The China Automobile Dealers Association recently issued a formal complaint to Mercedes-Benz Beijing regarding its allegedly illegal “double limit” policy for car dealers—minimum prices and restrictions on sales into other dealers` territories—revealing tension between a widespread industry practice and China’s Anti-Monopoly Law.
To read the full article, please visit: https://www.mwechinalaw.com/news/2011/chinalawalert0411a.htm.
by Henry L.T. Chen and Frank Schoneveld
China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce has imposed the first fines for violation of the country’s Anti-Monopoly Law on a concrete cartel. The swift action indicates business operators should anticipate more widespread and vigorous investigations by the newly empowered Chinese competition regulatory authorities.
To read the full article, please visit: https://www.mwechinalaw.com/news/2011/chinalawalert0211c.htm.
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