Red Star News:

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has repeatedly stressed the importance of further implementing policies aiming to ensure equal opportunities, fair access and orderly competition of all kinds of capital. I would like to ask, what achievements have been made in China in terms of safeguarding fair competition? What measures will be taken for the next step? Thank you.

Pu Chun:

Those are very good questions. Since the 18th National Congress of CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to protecting and promoting fair competition and made major decisions and arrangements to strengthen the fundamental role of fair competition policies. The State Administration for Market Regulation has further implemented fair competition policies, continued efforts to optimize fair competition management, and created an increasingly better market environment for fair competition in China.

First, the fair competition institutions and mechanisms have been constantly improved. For example, we have accelerated the amendment of the Anti-monopoly Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, formulated seven supporting regulations, released seven guidelines in some major industries and fields such as platform economy and the compliance of operators, and launched the Detailed Implementing Rules for the Fair Competition Review System. Following the reform of Party and state institutions in 2018, China's anti-monopoly function was integrated into SAMR. With the launch of an anti-monopoly bureau in 2021, China has realized the unification of the anti-monopoly law enforcement system. At the end of 2021, a guideline document issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on strengthening anti-monopoly and further promoting the implementation of fair competition policies marked China's first top-level design in policy framework for fair competition.

Second, the ecology of market competition has made constant progress. The SAMR has laid equal stress on standard supervision and promotion of development; given play to various kinds of laws and regulations on anti-unfair competition, price supervision, and advertisement supervision; carried out guidance by rules, administrative guidance, follow-up law enforcement, and conditional approval; promoted major law enforcement campaigns in an orderly and stable manner. With these efforts, such outstanding competition disorders as e-commerce platforms requiring businesses to choose one platform over another have been solved. Over the past decade, we have investigated and handled 195 cases involving monopoly agreements and 82 cases related to abuse of market dominance, and concluded 3,822 cases involving consolidation of operators. As a result, the market environment has become increasingly favorable for fair competition.

Third, we have further promoted the development of a unified domestic market. The fair competition review system has covered all the four administrative levels of government in China to prevented the adoption of policies that are destructive to building a unified domestic market and fair competition from the root. Over the last ten years, we have sorted out a total of 3.402 million policy documents, reviewed 1.278 million newly released policy documents, and corrected and abolished 53,000 ones. We have further strengthened law enforcement to fight the abuse of administrative power to preclude and restrict competition. We have investigated and handled 363 cases hindering the free movement of commodities. At the same time, we have furhered institutional opening-up in the field of competition and shared China's practice in global competition governance.

We must ground our work in this new stage of development, practice the new development philosophy, and foster a new development paradigm. We urgently need to accelerate efforts to improve the fair competition governance system suitable for our national conditions. With more attention paid to applying systematic and law-based thinking, we will continue to enhance the mechanism of fair competition, make red-light and green-light policies, and step up efforts to establish a comprehensive, tiered, and multi-dimensional system to regulate all stages, from start to finish, in all sectors. We will regulate and guide the sound and well-ordered development of capital in accordance with the law and continue to improve the effectiveness of competition regulation. We will strengthen advocacy for competition and enhance enterprise compliance to spur the development of a market environment that values, protects, and promotes fair competition. Thank you.