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China started a large-scale restructuring of its government departments last year, an important part of which is the consolidation of antitrust authorities. The previous three antitrust agencies ¨C the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the Price Supervision/Inspection and Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), have been merged into the Anti-Monopoly Bureau under a newly established regulatory body ¨C the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).

Legal experts have noticed that antitrust investigation and enforcement has become more proactive since the consolidation. Penalty-imposing cases reported by the SAMR cover almost all types of illegal activities regulated by the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML). Antitrust enforcement at the local level is also stepping up, and local antitrust authorities are expected to play an important role in enforcement activities in future.

Fair prey focuses on China¡¯s latest trends with regard to antitrust regulation. In addition to intensified enforcement, the country also has a series of legislative moves, including proposed amendments to the AML, consultation on three important departmental rules on abuse of domination, monopoly agreements and administrative monopoly, and the rolling out of the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines on the Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights, and more guidelines in the near future. The story also compares China¡¯s antitrust practices with those of the US and EU.