China’s enforcement of its Anti-Monopoly Law is an important compliance factor for foreign companies doing business in China. The Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is responsible for enforcing China’s antitrust law with respect to price-related anticompetitive conduct, such as price-fixing, resale price maintenance and excessive pricing.
In response to questions submitted by AmCham China, the NDRC agreed to meet the chamber’s members to address their concerns. The NDRC panel included:
- Li Qing, Deputy Director General of Bureau of Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly
- Liu Jian, Deputy Director, Division II of Anti- Monopoly Department
- Zhou Zhigao, Deputy Director, Division of Competition Policy
The panel addressed specific issues, such as third party distributors (in the situation where the manufacturer is also in the sales market), the NDRC’s treatment of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory commitments made by standard essential patent holders, market-based assessments of economic and business justifications for resale price maintenance programs, and how (or if) the NDRC include factors like underlying cost-structure or actual investment for R&D to determine the benchmark prices.
Becky Koblitz, Special Counsel at Sheppard Mullin Beijing Representative Office, moderated the event.