Clifford Chance

Antitrust in China and Across the Region

12 July 2024

QUARTERLY UPDATE

April to June 

In China, the past quarter has been filled with notable developments. On the merger control front, SAMR conditionally approved JX Nippon's acquisition of Tatsuta after almost 17 months' review based on a rarely used theory of harm. SAMR also published the first gun-jumping penalty decision following the 2022 AML amendments. In addition, SAMR consulted to amend the simple case filing form and announcement form. The last quarter witnessed continuous legislative efforts to enhance antitrust enforcement: the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress published its legislative plan for 2024, which includes reviewing the draft amendments to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law; SAMR officially promulgated the Interim Provisions against Unfair Competition on the Internet and consulted on horizontal merger review guidelines; the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Commission of the State Council released the revised guidelines on antitrust compliance; and the Supreme People's Court issued judicial interpretation on antitrust civil litigation. In the meantime, SAMR released its 2023 Antitrust Annual Report, summarising the antitrust enforcement work and achievements in China in 2023. At the enforcement level, SAMR issued a warning letter to Avanci, marking the first warning letter known to the public since the introduction of the "three notices and one letter" mechanism. Outside China, the digital economy remained the focus of antitrust scrutiny across the region, and bid rigging also attracted high-level attention.

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