On 8 June 2022, China’s antitrust regulator, the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), released the Annual Report on China’s Antitrust Enforcement (2021) (《中国反垄断执法年度报告（2021）》, hereinafter referred to as the “2021 Annual Report”).
The 2021 Annual Report consists of nine chapters, covering the effectiveness of law enforcement, industry enforcement, fair competition policy, rule of law, international cooperation and exchanges, and competition advocacy.
According to the Report, the SAMR had investigated and dealt with 175 antitrust cases of various types in 2021, including:
(1) 11 cases involving monopoly agreements;
(2) 11 cases involving abuse of market dominance;
(3) 107 cases involving the illegal concentration of business operators which were publicly punished; and
(4) 46 cases involving abuse of administrative power to exclude or restrict competition.
Besides, the SAMR had closed 727 cases involving the concentration of business operators, amounting to a 53% year-on-year increase. Among these cases, one was prohibited, and four were imposed with conditional approvals.
In 2021, China focused its antitrust enforcement on such key industries as e-commerce and food delivery. Typical enforcement activities are as follows:
(1) investigation and prosecution of the antitrust case in which Alibaba Group and Meituan compelled vendors to use either platform exclusively; and
(2) strict scrutiny of the concentration of business operators involving Internet platform enterprises in accordance with law, in order to prevent monopoly of Internet platforms and curb the irrational expansion of capital.
Cover Photo by Barry Zhou on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
