China's commerce ministry concludes 1,408 anti-monopoly investigations

BEIJING — China has made great efforts in facilitating fair market competition through the implementation of anti-monopoly regulations and a faster review process during the past five years, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

From 2013 to the end of August this year, the ministry received 1,483 anti-monopoly declarations on concentration of undertakings and concluded 1,408 cases, it said on its website.

In 2016, the cases concluded by the ministry involved a transaction value of 6.1 trillion yuan (about $926.5 billion), accounting for about 25 percent of the total transaction volume of China's global mergers and acquisitions.

The ministry has also been improving the efficiency of antitrust investigations, cutting the average review time by about 11.6 percent in the first half of 2017.

Some 82 percent of cases were concluded during the 30-day preliminary review stage in 2016, compared with only 12 percent in 2013.

The investigations have helped ensure fair market competition and protected the interest of consumers, as in the case of the merger between chemical giants Dow Chemical and DuPont, which the ministry approved with the preconditions that the two should divest some businesses.

As global mergers and acquisitions increase, the ministry has been actively cooperating with international law enforcement agencies, and signed cooperation agreements with many major countries and regions, including some BRICS countries and those along the Belt and Road.