The regulators

Since the enforcement of the anti-monopoly law in August 2008, three separate regulatory authorities have had the task of enforcing specific parts of the laws.

Ministry of Commerce:

Anti-monopoly bureau

Responsible for: appraising and approving mergers and acquisitions.

Most recent activity:

June 17, rejected a shipping alliance proposal between Denmark-based A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, Mediterranean Shipping Co SA of Switzerland and French firm CMA CGM SA to ensure fair competition in the Asia-Europe shipping market.

National Development and Reform Commission:

Price Supervision, Inspection and Anti-Monopoly Bureau

Responsible for: nationwide price supervision and inspection

Most recent activity:

August 6, confirmed investigations into Chrysler and Audi have resulted in evidence of monopolistic behavior, with investigations into Mercedes-Benz continuing.

In addition, investigation of price fixing by 12 Japanese auto spare-part manufacturers has been completed, with penalties to follow.

State Administration for Industry and Commerce:

Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Enforcement Bureau and provincial sub-bureaus

Responsible for: policing of anti-monopoly behavior unrelated to pricing, including the abuse of intellectual property rights. Also, unfair competition, commercial bribery, smuggling and the sales of smuggled commodities as well as other illegal economic cases.

Most recent activity:

July 29, announced antitrust investigation into Microsoft Corp for failing to fully disclose information on its Windows operating system and its Office software suite.

(China Daily 08/15/2014 page7)