Economic Daily: The Anti Monopoly Legal System with Chinese Characteristics has taken shape - the Rule of Law Protects Fair Competition in the Market

Officially promulgated in 2007 and implemented since August 1, 2008, the first amendment of the "Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" was ushered in 2022, marking 15 years since its inception. Over the past 15 years, China has achieved unified enforcement of anti-monopoly laws, issued the world's first anti-monopoly guidelines in the digital economy field, strengthened key sectors' anti-monopoly regulatory enforcement to promote high-quality development and safeguard people's well-being, effectively protected market fair competition, and upheld consumer interests, accelerating the construction of a unified national market.

Over the 15 years, China has established a legal normative system centered around the Anti-Monopoly Law, supplemented by one administrative regulation, eight State Council anti-monopoly guidelines, and six departmental regulations, shaping the distinctive Chinese anti-monopoly legal system.

Anti-monopoly is an important component of national economic governance.

In 2018, in accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the State Administration for Market Regulation was established by integrating the anti-monopoly responsibilities of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, and the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce, with the State Administration for Market Regulation being explicitly responsible for unified anti-monopoly enforcement. In December 2018, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Notice on Authorization of Anti-Monopoly Law Enforcement," authorizing the market supervision and administration departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government to be responsible for anti-monopoly law enforcement within their respective administrative regions, establishing a two-level anti-monopoly law enforcement system with central and provincial responsibilities, optimized collaboration, and high efficiency. In 2021, with the high attention of the

Shi Jianzhong, Vice President and Professor of China University of Political Science and Law, and an expert consultant of the State Council's Anti-Monopoly Commission, stated that maintaining a fair market order to ultimately improve the quality of people's lives and meet their increasing needs for a better life is the key objective. Continuing to advance anti-monopoly law enforcement in areas affecting people's livelihoods will undoubtedly provide solid guarantees for building a fair competitive market environment and promoting the prosperous development of the economy and society.

Anti-monopoly law is a legal framework that regulates industrial development.

Over the past 15 years, anti-monopoly law enforcement agencies have continuously reformed the system and mechanisms for reviewing concentrations of business operators, implemented a simplified case system and electronic declaration, explored pilot programs for reviewing concentrations of business operators, continuously improved the efficiency and quality of reviews, strengthened the review of concentrations of business operators in key areas such as semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, and automobile manufacturing, and concluded over 5,400 cases of concentrations of business operators, prohibited 3 cases, and approved 59 cases with restrictive conditions, effectively maintaining a good market competition landscape and stable industrial and supply chain development, and promoting sustained and healthy industrial development.

Sun Jin, Director and Professor of the Center for Competition Law and Policy Research at Wuhan University, stated that from the perspective of China's industry association anti-monopoly regulatory practices, China has adopted a collaborative approach to anti-monopoly regulation and self-regulation, combining external and internal constraints, which can effectively deter and enhance the compliance awareness of industry associations, promoting the healthy development of industry norms.

Anti-monopoly law is a legal framework that encourages innovation.

In recent years, the digital economy has become a new driver of economic and social development. However, issues such as platform monopolies and disorderly competition have gradually emerged, urgently requiring the establishment of sound digital economic rules, strengthened anti-monopoly regulation, promotion of fair competition in the digital economy, and unleashing innovation vitality. The newly amended anti-monopoly law includes "encouraging innovation" as a legislative purpose, establishes basic rules for anti-monopoly in the digital economy, and formulates and issues guidelines such as the "State Council Anti-Monopoly Commission's Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Platform Economy," and improves a transparent and predictable regularized regulatory system.

Over the past 15 years, anti-monopoly law enforcement agencies have explored the formulation of regulatory rules that meet the requirements of platform economic development, used tiered regulatory measures such as interviews, administrative guidance, rule guidance, and administrative penalties to strengthen the effectiveness of full-chain regulation before, during, and after the process, enhanced market competition assessment and monitoring warnings, further improved preventive regulatory measures, and promoted internet platform companies to transition from low-level illegal competition to high-level competition mainly relying on innovation and service quality improvement, promoting the maintenance of innovation vitality and healthy development of the platform economy.

Wang Yiming, Vice Chairman of the China International Economic Exchange Center, stated that in the year since the revision of the anti-monopoly law, relevant departments have intensified implementation efforts, cleared, repealed, and corrected a batch of policy provisions that hinder the construction of a unified market and fair competition, strengthened law enforcement actions in key areas, and achieved positive results. The newly amended anti-monopoly law has laid a legal foundation for strengthening anti-monopoly in the new era and promoting the construction of a unified national market.