Review №7 on Chinese Antitrust News from BRICS Antimonopoly Centre Experts
- Antimonopoly agenda "two sessions"
- Online Consumer Protection Report
- Strengthening judicial protection of IP rights and fair competition
- Possible cancellation of DiDi IPO in Hong Kong
- China's first license for autonomous driving services
- China's first carbo-neutral industrial park
Antimonopoly agenda "two sessions"
From 4 to 11 March under the slogan “Put stability first. Making progress in stability” Beijing hosted sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC - Chinese Parliament) and the National Committee of the People's Political Consultative Council of China (CC CPPCC - an advisory body under the NPC). The anti-monopoly agenda once again hit the government working report: State Council Premier Li Keqiang announced the need in 2022 to promote the implementation of competition policy, strengthen the fight against monopolistic practices, and protect a fair and orderly market environment.At the closing press conference on March 11, he again touched on the topic of antitrust regulation. Li Keqiang pointed out that the purpose of the anti-monopoly measures and countering the "disorderly expansion of capital" is to support and encourage enterprises that conduct their business in accordance with applicable law, guarantee equal development and fair competition between companies with any form of ownership, with Chinese and foreign capital. “Of course, we hope that the development of enterprises will also take place in a regulated and healthy manner,” the Prime Minister said.
According to analysis by Southern Metropolis, this time session participants spoke less actively about antitrust regulation than last year, but still did not ignore antitrust enforcement, including in areas such as finance, digital music, mini-programs, etc. , as well as antitrust compliance of digital platforms.
Source: New.qq
Online Consumer Protection Report
The 2021 Online Consumer Protection Report was published by the China Consumers Association. According to the authors of the report, instead of providing a free and flexible environment for the development of the digital economy, priority is now given to regulated and healthy development - henceforth it is emphasized that development and regulation are of equal importance. In 2021, the relevant legislation was intensively updated, the fight against forced exclusive cooperation, price dumping and unfair competition was carried out, online and offline channels for consumer appeals were improved, the consumer Internet space was “cleansed” – in particular, the regulation of marketing live broadcasts was created . Problems that have not yet been resolved are particularly noted: inadequate quality of some goods and services on the Internet, weak protection of personal data, unreasonable contractual requirements and abuse due to advance payments, problems with logistics, poor after-sales service, etc.
Source: WeixinStrengthening judicial protection of IP rights and fair competition
According to the People's Daily, citing Xinhua News Agency, China has strengthened judicial protection of intellectual property rights to promote the country's overall development. This thesis was put forward in the report on the work of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC).In 2021, the SPC worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant departments to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights in the seed industry, and Chinese courts at all levels as a court of first instance completed 541,000 intellectual property cases, including communications cases. 5G, biomedicine and high-tech manufacturing, to protect and encourage innovation. In addition, the SPC published a judicial interpretation on penalties for violations in this area and imposed sanctions on violators in 895 cases.
Along with this, the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office (SPP) announces the planned strengthening of judicial protection against monopolistic practices: its working report states that in 2022 the agency will fight against super profits and unfair competition, consider financial crimes to the fullest extent and actually ensure financial security.
Sources: Russian.people, Weixin
Possible cancellation of DiDi IPO in Hong Kong
Citing unnamed sources, some media reported that the Chinese Cyberspace Administration notified the management of the DiDi taxi aggregator that the company's proposed security and information leakage prevention measures do not meet the requirements. In this regard, DiDi stops preparing for an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange. This information has not yet received confirmation from official sources.
On July 4, the China Cyberspace Administration launched a cybersecurity review of DiDi and removed the app from mobile app store catalogs. Later, the service announced that it was leaving the New York Stock Exchange and launching preparations for listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Source: Myzaker
China's first license for autonomous driving services
The city of Yangquan in northeast China has issued a license to Baidu (a Chinese search and navigation software developer) to commercialize autonomous driving services, the first of its kind in China. “This means that when autonomous vehicles operate in special areas of the city, the presence of a safety controller in the driver’s seat is no longer required,” explained Nie Yuren, head of Baidu Intelligent Driving Business Group Solutions. Baidu has been studying autonomous driving since 2013, with road tests taking place in 30 cities across China.
Source: English.news.cnChina's first carbon-neutral industrial park
Intelligent Industrial Park "Asia №1», owned by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, received dual certification of carbon neutrality Beijing Environmental Exchange CBEEX CTI and independent laboratory. Certification was carried out according to the international standard ISO14064 greenhouse gases. In particular, in the park energy generation and storage system successfully used due to photovoltaic wafers mounted on the roofs of warehouses. Thus, the "Asia №1» has become China's first carbon neutral logistics park.
Source: Cenews
