The China Anti-Monopoly Law (AML), which became effective August 1, 2008, is the first comprehensive competition law enacted by China. The AML prohibits a broad array of agreements between competitors and commercial counterparties, as well as competitive conduct by single firms that may harm the competitive process. In addition, it establishes a mandatory administrative review procedure for mergers and acquisitions between companies meeting certain sales thresholds, globally or in China. Beyond these fundamental provisions, the AML prohibits certain types of administrative abuses believed to be prevalent in China and establishes a complex set of administrative agencies with broad powers to enforce the law. Anti-Monopoly Law and Practice in China is the first comprehensive treatment of the AML and the practice of antitrust law under this new system. Each chapter on the substantive provisions of the law includes practical advice on approaches to meeting the challenge of complying with the law's requirements, including analysis of likely interpretations and applications of the AML based on precedents in related economic laws and actions by other administrative agencies. Where policy choices are uncertain, the text will explore probable developments in China based on comparable applications of competition laws in other jurisdictions.

It probably goes without saying that anti-monopoly law and practice are of very recent vintage in China. In August 2008, 118 years after the Sherman Act and 50 years after the Treaty of Rome, China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) came into effect. Since then the enforcement of the AML has seen significant progress as well as considerable challenges. This volume, comprised of 27 highly informative contributions by more than 40 government officials, academics, economists, in-house lawyers, and private practitioners, introduces novice practitioners to the complexities of antitrust law in China and provides new insight for those already working in the field. Generally following the structure of the text of the AML, topics and issues covered include the following: an overview of the first five years of AML implementation; the institutional framework for antitrust enforcement in China; monopoly agreements between market players; abuses of dominance committed by a single company; problems and potential solutions for information exchanges between competitors; the economics underlying retail price maintenance; refusals to deal; procedural and substantive practice of merger decisions; the application of merger control to joint ventures; ‘administrative monopolies’ and the tension between competition and industrial policies; ways to seek legal redress; litigation (both administrative and civil) and the role of the courts; international cooperation efforts made in relation to Chinese antitrust enforcers; the relationship between the AML and China’s anti-bribery rules; the treatment of vertical integration or cooperation; and how the AML rules apply to intellectual property rights. Throughout the book there are analyses of major judgments with key conclusions to be drawn from them, as well as comparisons with corresponding judgments in other jurisdictions. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of the AML, and as such will be of inestimable value to business persons and in-house counsel, as well as to academics in Chinese law and competition law from a global perspective.

This book focuses on experiences with the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) of 2007 in China. It uses carefully-chosen case studies to examine how the competition authorities in China discuss cases and how they use economic reasoning in their decision-making process. Bringing together comparative perspectives, the expert contributors discuss the practice of the Anti-Monopoly Law in China from the viewpoints of European and American competition policy. Several very current topics are given specific attention, including enforcement, the role of the state, how to define the relevant market and how to apply the AML to regulated industries. The book also indicates the scope for mutual learning on how to improve the AML. The Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law will appeal to competition lawyers, attorneys-at-law dealing with economic law generally, civil servants and policy makers, comparative lawyers and social scientists with an interest in developments in China.

This unique book considers competition policy and regulation in light of the recent introduction of the anti-monopoly law in China. It addresses the relevance of competition policy for China from a broad theoretical and practical perspective, bringing together lawyers and economists from China, Europe and the US to provide an integrated law and economics approach. Given that the development of the Chinese anti-monopoly law in China was heavily reliant on a comparative approach, the contributors analyse how its text and practice actually compare to European and US legislation. The first cases in which Chinese anti-monopoly law were applied are explored, and both competition law and competition policy are discussed in detail. Topics include: industrial and professional regulation and their relationship to competition law, merger control, substantive competition law issues, cartels, and abuse of dominance and predation. This unique book will prove a fascinating read for competition lawyers, economists with a special interest in regulation and competition, and for practitioners concerned with competition policy and regulation.

A comprehensive guide to the competition regimes of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The book adopts an inter-disciplinary approach considering the political, economic and legal issues relevant to competition policy adoption.

China's rise as an economic superpower has caused growing anxieties in the West. Europe is now applying stricter scrutiny over takeovers by Chinese state-owned giants, while the United States is imposing aggressive sanctions on leading Chinese technology firms such as Huawei, TikTok, and WeChat. Given the escalating geopolitical tensions between China and the West, are there any hopeful prospects for economic globalization? In her compelling new book Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism, Angela Zhang examines the most important and least understood tactic that China can deploy to counter western sanctions: antitrust law. Zhang reveals how China has transformed antitrust law into a powerful economic weapon, supplying theory and case studies to explain its strategic application over the course of the Sino-US tech war. Zhang also exposes the vast administrative discretion possessed by the Chinese government, showing how agencies can leverage the media to push forward aggressive enforcement. She further dives into the bureaucratic politics that spurred China's antitrust regulation, providing an incisive analysis of how divergent missions, cultures, and structures of agencies have shaped regulatory outcomes. More than a legal analysis, Zhang offers a political and economic study of our contemporary moment. She demonstrates that Chinese exceptionalism-as manifested in the way China regulates and is regulated, is reshaping global regulation and that future cooperation relies on the West comprehending Chinese idiosyncrasies and China achieving greater transparency through integration with its Western rivals.

The Political Economy of Competition Law in China provides a unique, multifaceted perspective of China's anti-monopoly law.