Bauhinia Magazine:

In recent years, China has investigated and handled a number of cases of market and administrative monopolies, which has aroused public attention. What follow-up measures will be taken, and how can we better protect and promote fair competition? Thank you.

Gan Lin:

Thank you for your questions. Just now, when I answered the question from the reporter from Kyodo News, I partially addressed your question. Your question encompasses a broader scope, including both market and administrative monopolies. As you just mentioned, in recent years, we have resolutely implemented the decisions and plans of the Party Central Committee and the State Council and investigated and handled a number of representative cases in accordance with the Anti-Monopoly Law, which has aroused public attention and yielded satisfactory results. Next, acting upon the plans and requirements of the 20th CPC National Congress on combatting monopolies and promoting fair competition, we will give equal emphasis to standardizing supervision and promoting development. The measures mainly include the following four aspects:

First, we will further improve the supply of laws and regulations to cement the foundation of the rule of law for fair competition. We will reinforce the foundational role of fair competition policies and ensure the implementation of the Anti-Monopoly Law. Meanwhile, we will intensify efforts to amend the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, improve supporting regulations and rules for anti-monopoly, such as standards for reporting business concentrations, and take solid steps to enhance the operability and predictability of laws and regulations so as to ensure that enterprises have a clearer understanding of the regulatory rules and law enforcement procedures and have greater confidence in the market environment.  

Second, we will further regulate the improper intervention of administrative power in market competition to break local protectionism and administrative monopolies. We will move faster to improve the fair competition review system by promoting the formulation of regulations and enhancing third-party evaluation mechanisms. Regular spot checks and inspections will also be conducted. We will strengthen law enforcement to prevent and stop abuse of administrative power to exclude and restrict competition. We will delimit the rules and improve the code of conduct to reinforce the authority of regulation and enhance the hard constraints on law enforcement. With all these efforts, we will promote the smooth flow of goods and resources in a wider scope.

Third, we will further enhance the quality and efficiency of the anti-monopoly Law enforcement to maintain market order for fair competition. We will take solid steps to carry out our pre-deployed law enforcement to counter monopolies in areas that are important to people's well-being and promptly address violations of the competition law that are of great concern to the people. We will strengthen the review of business concentrations in key areas and further improve case-handling efficiency and review quality. We will advance the building of the compliance management system for fair competition between businesses and continuously optimize the market competition environment.

Fourth, we will further improve the governance capacity for fair competition to expand the influence of anti-monopoly both at home and abroad. We will continue to strengthen publicity and advocacy for fair competition, organize a publicity week for China's fair competition policies, and release annual reports on the enforcement of anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition laws on a regular basis to create high-quality publicity brands. We will deepen international cooperation to combat monopolies, align with high-standard international competition rules, and actively participate in the governance of international competition to boost market competition and innovation dynamism for a better market environment. With these efforts, we will make greater contributions to accelerating the creation of a new development pattern and the pursuit of high-quality development. Thank you.