The draft of China's anti-monopoly law has been finished and is
now under revision and deliberation, Li Dongsheng, deputy director
general of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, said
Tuesday.
The Anti-Monopoly Law, once approved, would cover many
industries and sectors and focus on issues like regional blockades
and administrative monopoly, Li said at an international symposium
on competitive policies and legislation.
According to Li, its preparation work was initiated in 1994 in
an effort to fill the country's lacuna in competition-related
legislation.
Currently, only the Anti-Unfair Competition Law enacted in 1993
and a few articles of Trademark Law, Advertising Law and Price Law
contain elements against unfair competition.
To secure the smooth development of China's market economy, some
experts hold that promulgation of a sound anti-monopoly law is a
must. They also categorized monopoly behaviors into three kinds,
monopoly by state-owned enterprises with government connections,
monopoly by regional governments toward local markets and market
monopoly by certain companies.
Official statistics revealed that China's industrial and
commercial authorities have cracked 5,200 monopoly cases in sectors
like water, power and gas supply, railways, insurance, telecom and
postal services over the past five years.
(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2005)