The First Revision of the Chinese Antimonopoly Law

Abstract

The revised Antimonopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China took effect on 1 August 2022. This article discusses three areas affected by the revised legislation. First, there are changes in the area of illegal business practices under antitrust law and the abuse of administrative privileges. Salient among these, and already familiar in other jurisdictions, are the safe-harbour rule and the ban on hub-and-spoke syndicates. Second, the work of the state organs responsible for anti-monopoly enforcement has been modified, in part through the provision of new enforcement powers. Third, the circle of liable persons has been expanded, with the possibility of imposing higher fines. This corresponds to the legislative intent of stricter enforcement in the area of competition law.