Commission Signs EU Cooperation Agreement With China

On 20 September 2012, in the context of the 15th EU-China Summit, Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Zhang Ping, Chairman of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, and Fu Shuangjan, Vice-Minister of the Chinese State Administration of Industry and Commerce, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“Memorandum”) to increase cooperation between the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition and the Chinese antitrust authorities.

The Memorandum creates a dedicated framework for increased cooperation between the Commission and two of China’s anti-monopoly enforcement authorities, namely the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), responsible for the enforcement of competition rules against price-related infringements and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), responsible for enforcing competition rules against non-pricing related infringements.