A Six-Month Update Of China's Fair Competition Review System

In June 2016, China's State Council issued its Opinions of the State Council on Establishing a Fair Competition Review System During the Development of Market-oriented Review System ("Opinions").1 The fair competition review system ("FCRS") that the Opinions contemplate is designed to protect against the potential abuse of administrative power by Chinese government agencies that could result in anti-competitive effects. In other words, the FCRS is supposed to constrain government activities from unduly influencing market competition, consistent with the prohibition that China's Anti-Monopoly Law places on such conduct.2

The Chinese government has been active in its efforts to implement the FCRS. Those efforts can be classified into three categories: (i) public education and awareness campaigns; (ii) development of implementation regulations and mechanisms; and (iii) actual FCRS reviews. Below, we highlight some of the progress in these areas.