Draft framework aims to standardize compliance assessments.
China's top antitrust regulator is laying the groundwork for a national framework to determine whether companies' antitrust-compliance programs are effective, as the regulator seeks to standardize the use of compliance incentives in antitrust enforcement.
As part of that effort, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) earlier this week launched a public consultation on a proposed recommended national standard project titled "Antimonopoly Compliance Management for Undertakings — Evaluation of Effectiveness." Comments are due by Sunday.
The proposed project identifies one of SAMR's three antitrust bureaus, Competition Policy and Liaison Bureau, and the China National Institute of Standardization as the drafters.
The standard would also apply to companies conducting self-assessments of the effectiveness of their antitrust-compliance programs as well as third-parties evaluating those programs.
It would establish principles for evaluating the effectiveness of antitrust-compliance management, set out an evaluation-indicator framework, specify how evaluation indicators should be assessed and describe how evaluation results should be determined.
The consultation seeks feedback on issues including the proposed scope of the standard, whether it overlaps or conflicts with existing documents.
According to the project notice, the standard is expected to be completed within six months.
The proposal follows SAMR's broader push in recent years to strengthen antitrust compliance by businesses.
According to SAMR's 2025 antitrust enforcement report, the regulator has been strengthening its antitrust guidelines and encouraging companies to enhance compliance management and improve their ability to prevent monopoly risks.
The regulator has also been promoting implementation of a national standard on fair-competition compliance management, which took effect at the end of 2024, while encouraging local market regulators to broaden its adoption through outreach and training.
The proposed standard is expected to provide a more structured basis for assessing whether those compliance programs are effective.
Source: MLex
