Tianmu News:

My question is concerning antitrust regulation. This June, the NPC Standing Committee adopted an amendment to the Anti-Monopoly Law, which will take effect on Aug. 1. The new Anti-Unfair Competition Law is also being revised. What achievements have been made in the fields of anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition work? And going forward, what will be the future considerations? Thank you.

Gan Lin:

Thank you for your interest in competition supervision, especially the enforcement of anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition laws. The more the market economy develops, the more important fair competition is. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we have worked unswervingly both to consolidate and develop the public sector and to encourage, support and guide development of the non-public sector. We have pursued standardization in development while seeking development in standardization, creating a better environment for competition and broader space for development for all types of market entities. Just now, you asked about our achievements in the past decade. I will elaborate on them from the following four aspects:

Over the past decade, China has formulated more equitable, transparent, and predictable competition rules. The country has completed an amendment to the Anti-monopoly Law to make it more compatible with the socialist market economy. This is the first time that a law was amended for the first time after 14 years of implementation. The amended law will come into force on August 1, 2022. Today's press conference provides a valuable opportunity for us to intensify publicity in this field. Therefore, I would like to express my appreciation to all the law enforcement authorities present here. In recent years, China has twice amended the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and formulated seven supporting regulations and eight anti-monopoly guidelines in areas such as platform economy and IPR protection. The CPC Central Committee has formulated a guideline document for the first time on strengthening anti-monopoly and further promoting the implementation of fair competition policies, which clarifies the top-level design and strategic direction for fair competition. Meanwhile, we have enhanced policy explanation, publicity, and guidance to improve the transparency and predictability of supervision and law enforcement.

Over the past decade, China has embarked on a new stage in building efficient and orderly market competition. During this period, we have investigated and handled in accordance with the law 794 cases involving monopolistic practices and 234,000 cases related to unfair competition and concluded 3,822 cases involving the consolidation of operators. As a result, illegal competition in areas such as platform economy, medicine, and public utilities has been prevented and curbed in time. We have also fully implemented the review system to ensure fair competition, reviewed 4.68 million policy documents, and corrected and abolished 53,000 ones that eliminate or stifle competition. By doing so, we have strongly boosted the development of a unified domestic market and created a favorable system to promote the coordinated development of enterprises under all forms of ownership of all sizes.

Over the past decade, China has made progress in promoting the reform of the regulatory system and mechanisms. Just now, Mr. Tang introduced me to you as commissioner of the State Anti-Monopoly Bureau. Following the reform of the regulatory system and mechanisms, China established the State Administration for Market Regulation to realize the unification of anti-monopoly law enforcement. Last year, the State Anti-Monopoly Bureau was set up in the same building as the State Administration of Market Regulation to further strengthen anti-monopoly supervision and improve the working mechanism of the Anti-Monopoly Commission of the State Council. Also, we set up the inter-departmental joint meeting mechanism for combating unfair competition and applying fair competition reviews. All the ministries and ministerial-level commissions present here are our members. Meanwhile, we have strengthened coordination between central and local governments to increase the overall effectiveness of anti-monopoly supervision.

Over the past decade, China has scaled new heights by participating in global competition governance. The country has signed cooperation documents with 35 countries and regions, including the United States, the European Union, Russia, and Japan, and has added a separate chapter for competition policy in 10 free trade agreements (FTAs), including RCEP and the China-ROK FTA. Last year, we successfully held the 7th BRICS International Competition Conference. China now ranks among the world's top three anti-monopoly jurisdictions, together with the US and the EU.

Next, we will fully implement the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and strike a good balance between strengthening supervision and promoting development. We will also improve high-quality competition supervision and enforcement to translate soft power into hard power and fair competition into innovative development.

Thank you.