Anti-monopoly legislation on the way :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Anti-monopoly legislation on the way

Posted by admin on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:39 AM

Experts say there are many stipulations in laws and regulations to counter monopoly in China in the absence of an anti-monopoly law, but implementation is ineffective because of the lack of a powerful authority, according to Friday's China Daily.
Relevant provisions are scattered through the Law against Unfair Competition, Price Law, Bid and Tender Law and other department rules, said Wang Xiaoye, a professional of anti-monopoly legislation from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He said China adopted the Pricing Law in December 1997, which stipulates that a business operator should not collude with others to manipulate the market price. Violators would be fined, their business operations suspended, or their business licences revoked permanently. Provisions in the Law Against Unfair Competition prohibited the abuse of dominant positions, Wang said. For example, a business operator should not, for the purpose of forcing out competitors, sell commodities at prices lower than cost. The business operator also should not, against the will of the purchasers, conduct a tie-in sale of commodities or attach any other unreasonable conditions to such a sale. Department rules also provide detailed stipulations against monopoly, Wang said. For example, the Ministry of Commerce could refuse acquisitions by foreign-funded companies in the case of monopoly. But existing anti-monopoly law is ineffective in conducting enforcement because of insufficient power, she said. Anti-monopoly policing, which often involves large enterprises and the government, demands that anti-monopoly law enforcers possess sufficient independence and authority, Wang said. Besides, most of the regulations were issued by the State Council, or its ministries or commissions, and lacked legal authority. Some regulations did not contain provisions on legal responsibility and lacked operational clout, she said.

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