ANTITRUST

LEGISLATION

Anti-Monopoly Law Amendments Included in the 2021 Key Legislative Plan of the National People's Congress

On 21 December 2020, Yue Zhongming, spokesperson of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, introduced the key legislative plan of the National People's Congress in 2021 at a press conference, which includes the amendments of the Anti-Monopoly Law.1

AUTHORITIES

The Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Holds a Seminar on Antitrust and the Prevention of Disorderly Expansion of Capital

On 28 December 2020, the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee held a seminar to thoroughly implement the requirements of the recent Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Conference and the Central Economic Work Conference to strengthen antitrust and prevent the disorderly expansion of capital and to research and deploy related work in the province.2

People's Daily Releases 2019 Annual Report on Antitrust Enforcement

On 26 December, the People's Daily published the 2019 Annual Report on China's Antitrust Enforcement, a report drafted by the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation ("SAMR") to thoroughly implement the important instructions of President Xi Jin Ping on competition policy and antitrust work, to strengthen and improve antitrust enforcement, to promote the modernisation of the governance system and governance capabilities, and to create a more open, transparent, standardised, orderly, fair and efficient legal environment for the compilation of the annual report.3

SAMR Releases Ten Typical Antitrust Enforcement Cases in 2019

On 25 December, in order to continuously strengthen anti-monopoly law enforcement, protect fair competition in the market, and safeguard consumer interests, SAMR released the top ten typical antitrust enforcement cases in 2019, including the monopoly agreement case of Changan Ford Automobile Co., Ltd, the abuse of dominant market position case of Eastman (China) Investment Management Co., Ltd, and the case of abusing administrative power to exclude and restrict competition of Zhejiang Meteorological Bureau.4

SAMR Sets Work Plan for the Next Year

On 25 December, the Party Group of SAMR held an enlarged conference to further study and implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, and to discuss and deploy priorities for the market supervision system next year. The conference emphasised that it is necessary to strictly implement the major decisions of the Party Central Committee on strengthening antitrust and anti-unfair competition, effectively improve antitrust work capabilities, and create an institutional environment for fair competition.5

SAMR and the Civil Aviation Administration Establish a Price Supervision Cooperation Mechanism

On 18 December, SAMR and the Civil Aviation Administration issued the Notice of the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Civil Aviation Administration on Establishing a Civil Aviation Price Supervision Cooperation Mechanism (Guo Shi Jian Competition [2020] No.193), aiming to jointly investigate and punish monopolistic activities in accordance with the law.6

The Central Economic Work Conference Determines Eight Key Tasks for the Next Year, including Strengthening Antitrust and Preventing the Disorderly Expansion of Capital

From 16 December to 18 December, the Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing. The conference emphasised that antitrust and anti-unfair competition are inherent requirements for improving the socialist market economic system and promoting high-quality development. The state supports platform enterprises to innovate, develop and enhances their international competitiveness, supports the common development of the public and non-public economies, and at the same time regulates development in accordance with the law and perfects digital rules. It is necessary to improve the legal norms for the identification of platform enterprise monopoly, the management of data collection and use, and the protection of consumer rights. It is necessary to strengthen regulation, enhance supervision capabilities, and actively oppose monopoly and unfair competition. Financial innovation must be carried out upon prudential supervision.7

Beijing Market Supervision Integrated Law Enforcement Unit Established

On 15 December, the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Integrated Law Enforcement Unit was officially found. The Enforcement Unit integrated the responsibilities of five enforcement teams. In the future, it will exercise the power of administrative punishment that should be exercised by provincial administrative departments in the fields of antitrust and intellectual property rights, and will be responsible for the investigation and handling of related cases and related administrative law enforcement.8/p>

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC Conference: Strengthening Antitrust and Preventing Disorderly Expansion of Capital

On 11 December, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a conference to analyse and discuss the economic work in 2021. The conference called for the overall promotion of reform and opening up, strengthening the national strategic scientific and technological power, enhancing the independent controllability of the industrial supply chain, forming a strong domestic market, consolidating the agricultural foundation, strengthening antitrust and preventing the disorderly expansion of capital.9

23 Provinces Holds an Antitrust Work Symposium in Hangzhou

On 10 December, an antitrust work symposium of several provinces was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. The symposium studied and implemented the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Party in-depth, summarised the achievements in antitrust work, and thoroughly analysed the new situation, new tasks and new challenges; it also discusses and deploys antitrust work during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. Gan Lin, the deputy director of SAMR, attended the meeting and delivered a speech.10

PUBLIC ENFORCEMENT

A Subsidiary of the State-Owned Nanjing Water Affairs Group Punished for Abuse of Dominant Position

On 16 December 2020, SAMR announced on its official website that on 30 November, the Jiangsu Administration for Market Regulation made an administrative penalty decision on the abuse of dominant position case of Nanjing Water Group Gaochun Co., Ltd; the company was fined CNY 1.82 million for exclusive dealing conducts.11

SAMR Launches an Investigation into Alibaba's Suspected "Choosing One out of Two" Monopolistic Behaviour

Recently, SAMR, based on the tips-off, launched investigations into Alibaba Group Holdings Co., Ltd. for suspected monopolistic conduct such as "choosing one out of the two".12

MERGER CONTROL

SAMR Imposes Administrative Penalties on Three Gum-Jumping Cases

On 14 December 2020, SAMR issued penalty decisions on the gum-jumping cases of Alibaba Investment Co., Ltd.'s acquisition of the equity of Yintai Commercial (Group) Co., Ltd., China Reading Group's acquisition of the equity of Xinli Media Holdings Co., Ltd, Shenzhen Hive Box Network Technology Co., Ltd.'s acquisition of the equity of China Post Smart Delivery Technology Co., Ltd., The three companies were fined CNY 500,000 respectively.13

COURTS LITIGATION

Wuhan Intermediate People's Court Issues an Anti-Suit Injunction on Samsung v. Ericsson SEP Licence Fee Dispute

On 25 December 2020, the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court granted Samsung an anti-suit injunction against Ericsson, prohibiting Ericsson from, before the judgment of the case takes effect: (1) seeking or applying for injunctive relief or administrative measures worldwide for the enforcement of 4G and 5G standard-essential patents; (2) suing for courts to determine license conditions (including license rates) or license fees worldwide, or to confirm whether they have fulfilled FRAND obligations; (3) seeking an anti-suit injunction.14

The Supreme People's Court Rules that Abuse of Dominant Position Disputes is Bound by Arbitration Clauses

On 24 December, the China Judgements Online published the Supreme People's Court's retrial ruling in the abuse of market dominance dispute case between Shanxi Changlin Industrial Co., Ltd. and Shell (China) Co., Ltd; it found that the antitrust dispute, in this case, shall be bound by the arbitration clause in the "Distributor Agreement" between the two parties, and therefore rejected the plaintiff's application for a retrial.15

Qinghai Natural Gas Company Files an Administrative Lawsuit after Being Punished for Abuse of Dominant Position and Obstructing Investigation

On 22 December, the Xining Railway Transportation Court heard an administrative lawsuit brought by Qinghai Minhe Chuanzhong Petroleum and Natural Gas Co., Ltd. against the anti-monopoly administrative penalty imposed by Qinghai Administration for Market Regulation.16

Chongqing Intermediate People's Court Upholds the Punishment of the Two Parties in the Chongqing Sintered Brick Horizontal Monopoly Agreement Case

On 10 December, the First Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing Municipality issued a judgment on the appeal case of Chongqing Sintered Brick Horizontal Monopoly Agreement case. On 9 August 2019, the Chongqing Administration for Market Regulation made administrative penalty decisions on nine parties in the case, including Yunyang Rongming Shale Brick Co., Ltd. ("Rongming") and Yang Tao (the person in charge of Yanghe Brick Factory in Shuangjiang Town); Rongming and Yang Tao were fined CNY 224,900 and CNY 284,506.4 respectively. Subsequently, both parties filed lawsuits at a district court, requesting the cancellation of the penalty decision, which was rejected by the court. After that, both parties filed an appeal to the Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court; the appeal was rejected by the Intermediate People's Court.17

Latest Update on the Two Pharmaceutical Companies Suing SAMR

On 15 December, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court heard the case of Weifang Puyunhui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Puyunhui") v. SAMR. Before, SAMR made an administrative penalty decision on 9 April against three calcium gluconate API distributors including Puyunhui for their abuse of dominant position.18

Wuhan Intermediate People's Court Rejects InterDigital's Application for a Reconsideration of Xiaomi's FRAND Rate Dispute

On 4 December, the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court ruled on the reconsideration application by InterDigital against the previous anti-suit injunction application by Xiaomi. On 9 June, Xiaomi filed a lawsuit in the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court, requesting the court to make a ruling on the global rates or the range of rates involved in the negotiation of standard-essential patent license fees between the two parties in accordance with FRAND rules. On 29 July, InterDigital sued Xiaomi for patent infringement and sought injunctive relief in the Delhi High Court of India. On 4 August, Xiaomi filed an anti-suit injunction application to the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court. On 23 September, the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court made a ruling, demanding InterDigital to immediately withdraw or suspend the temporary and permanent injunctions application to the District Court of Delhi for Xiaomi's 3G and 4G standard-essential patents involved in this case, and refrain from applying for enforcement of the temporary and permanent injunctions that have been obtained or may be obtained against Xiaomi on the 3G and 4G standard-essential patents involved in this case in China or other countries and regions. InterDigital applied for reconsideration. On 4 December, the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court made a ruling and rejected the InterDigital's reconsideration application.19

Beijing Intellectual Property Court Dismisses the Abuse of Dominant Case against PetroChina and BECKBURY

On 7 December, the China Judgements Online published the judgment of the abuse of dominant position case between Panjin Dongxing Oil Well Measures Service Co., Ltd., PetroChina and BECKBURY Company. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court rejected the plaintiff's request because the plaintiff could prove neither that PetroChina and BECKBURY had a dominant market position in the relevant market nor the existence of the accused conduct of discrimination and refusal to deal without justification.20

Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court Confirms Jurisdiction over SEP's Global License Rate

In December, the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Court of the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court made a ruling on the jurisdiction objection in the case of OPPO v. Sharp; Sharp's application for jurisdictional objection was rejected.21

The Supreme People's Court Rejects the Appeal of the Abuse of Market Dominant Position Case against China Environmental Monitoring Station

On 3 December, the China Judgments Online published the verdict on the abuse of dominant position case of Guangzhou Quanxing Environmental Protection Equipment Co., Ltd. v. China Environmental Monitoring Station. The Supreme People's Court rejected the plaintiff's request because the plaintiff failed to prove that it had a direct interest in the claim.22

Academia

Sino-German Antitrust Experts Discuss Antitrust and Platform Economy

In December 2020, the Social Sciences Literature Press and the China Trade Research Institute of Beijing International Studies University jointly hosted the antitrust and platform economy academic seminar and the release conference of a new book, Uneasy Change: Market Competition and Public Welfare in the Digital Age. Antitrust experts and scholars from Germany and China interacted and discussed the development of the digital economy and antitrust issues of the platform economy in Germany, the European Union, and China.23

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Footnotes

1. http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c30834/202012/f4fd27270f78471dbe8f88c31c47cb0f.shtml

2. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NEwjT0QwXQbH_pXa2wGlOQ?scene=25#wechat_redirect

3. http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2020-12/26/nbs.D110000renmrb_06.htm

4. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TX7_jBVBarxtj7Vyp0PyyQ

5. http://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/202012/t20201225_324717.html

6. http://gkml.samr.gov.cn/nsjg/jjjzj/202012/t20201224_324674.html

7. http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2020-12/18/c_1126879325.htm

8. https://m.21jingji.com/article/20201216/herald/34ca802eb3573e5a82dd5aedf1516a11.html

9. http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2020-12/11/c_1126850644.htm

10. http://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/202012/t20201210_324275.html

11. http://www.samr.gov.cn/fldj/tzgg/xzcf/202012/t20201216_324415.html

12. http://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/202012/t20201224_324638.html

13. http://www.samr.gov.cn/fldj/tzgg/xzcf/

14. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/v0fchJURyG7YjbHWLg5O7g

15. https://wenshu.court.gov.cn/website/wenshu/181107ANFZ0BXSK4/index.html?docId=b6495f06739646388ab9ac9e01247ebc

16. http://tingshen.court.gov.cn/live/16691974

17. https://wenshu.court.gov.cn/website/wenshu/181107ANFZ0BXSK4/index.html?docId=b6495f06739646388ab9ac9e01247ebc

18. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NrISEKVAzdQsvMdc1HVDAg?scene=25#wechat_redirect

19. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/VqZRr1XQzzhE4dAW4F7MEw?scene=25#wechat_redirect

20. https://wenshu.court.gov.cn/website/wenshu/181107ANFZ0BXSK4/index.html?docId=46472a4cfa924c93a56dac89000a0f99

21. http://www.ipeconomy.cn/index.php/mobile/news/magazine_details/id/2004.html

22. https://wenshu.court.gov.cn/website/wenshu/181107ANFZ0BXSK4/index.html?docId=a55d8836ee344ee683ffac8500d120f6

23. http://dz.jjckb.cn/www/pages/webpage2009/html/2020-12/29/content_70346.htm

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