Authored by Michael Gu (michaelgu@anjielaw.com) and Sun Sihui (sunsihui@anjielaw.com) at AnJie Law Firm
Introduction
On June 1 2016 the State Council published its Opinions on Establishing a Fair Competition Review System in the Development of the Market Regime, signalling the formal establishment of China’s fair competition review system. The fair competition review system is a major initiative to ensure fair play among participants in the Chinese market. It is also a significant instrument for promoting the development of China’s socialist market economy and the reform of its economic system from the top down.
The opinions represent a key step towards establishing the competition policy and implementing the State Council’s measures to streamline administration and delegate more power to lower-level governments. The opinions will also:
• have a profound influence on the supervision and regulation of government activity;
• promote market-oriented policy development;
• stimulate creativity and vitality among market players; and
• foster fair market competition.