China's NDRC recent cartel decisions shed further light on its leniency policy

Introduction

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (the NDRC) has recently stepped up its cartel enforcement activities and for the first time has published non-confidential versions of a number of its cartel decisions. With its new activism and openness as regards its policy and decisions, the NDRC seems poised to take its place as a leading global antitrust authority in the area of cartel enforcement, much as MOFCOM has done in the area of merger control. In global cartel investigations, multinationals need to take account of the NDRC's enforcement policy and the factors it uses to set base fines and to grant fine reductions as part of their global strategy of applying for leniency and cooperating with authorities to minimise fines.