Review № 13 of Chinese Antitrust News from the Experts of the BRICS Competition Centre
- 19 prohibitions in the Regulations on the fair competition review system
- China and Peru signed cooperation agreements
- China and the European Union agreed to hold consultations on duties
- The European Union will introduce new duties on Chinese cheap goods
- Avanci Antitrust Warning
- First list of greenhouse gas validation and verification organizations
- China and Australia strengthen cooperation in metrology
- AI market growth
- China leads in generative AI development
19 prohibitions in the Regulations on the fair competition review system
At the briefing of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, 19 prohibitions established by the recently adopted Regulations on the fair competition review system, which will come into force on August 8th, were clarified. Thus, adopted policies and administrative documents should not make it difficult to enter the market, interfere with the free circulation of goods and factors of production, the movement of business entities, participate in tenders and trades, or discriminate against goods and entities from other regions. It also prohibits the provision of improper benefits and subsidies, coercion of anti-competitive practices and improper/unreasonable interference in price regulation.
The regulations were published by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on June 13th. This system involves checking existing and proposed laws, regulations, administrative decisions, etc. for the absence of provisions that impede the development of competition.
China and Peru signed cooperation agreements
On June 28th, in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, SAMR Director Luo Wen signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the field of consumer protection with the National Institute for the Protection of Competition and Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) of Peru.
During the visit of the Peruvian President to Beijing, the countries also renewed free trade agreements, discussed cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, agreed on the timely completion of the Chancai port and signed an intergovernmental action plan for 2024-2029 on trade cooperation , economics, technological innovation.
Sources: Chinadaily, SAMR
China and the European Union agreed to hold consultations on duties
Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao and European Commission Deputy Chairman Valdis Dombrovskis agreed to hold consultations on the introduction of increased duties by the EU on electric vehicles from China. They discussed this issue during a video conference as part of the visit of German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck to China.
According to a representative of the European Commission, the conversation was “frank and constructive”, both sides agreed to “interact based on facts and with full respect for WTO rules.” Negotiations between Brussels and Beijing will continue at all levels over the next few weeks.
On July 4th, the EC introduced temporary countervailing duties on imports of Chinese electric vehicles of up to 38%, as an investigation concluded that Chinese supplier companies benefit from “unfair” subsidies, thus threatening EU electric vehicle production. The temporary customs regime will last no more than four months. Earlier, in response to a statement about the intention to introduce such duties, the PRC launched an anti-dumping investigation into pork and by-products imported from the European Union.
Source: Bloomberg, European Commission
The European Union will introduce new duties on Chinese cheap goods
Brussels is developing plans to introduce customs duties on cheap goods from Chinese e-commerce platforms, including AliExpress, Temu and Shein. The revision of duties is aimed at combating “the influx of a large number of cheap, low-quality goods.”
The European Commission has proposed eliminating the current threshold of 150 euros ($161), below which goods can be purchased duty-free. Last year, 2.3 billion of these goods were imported into the EU.
Source: Financial Times
Avanci Antitrust Warning
On June 27th, SAMR issued a warning to Avanci's patent pool, calling on the company to analyze the risks in accordance with the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China. In particular, the warning mentioned the high risks of monopolization when licensing automotive wireless networks. Authorities noted the need to address potential violations, strengthen corporate antitrust compliance systems, place greater emphasis on risk prevention and control, and protect fair competition in the market.
First list of greenhouse gas validation and verification organizations
SAMR has published a list of organizations authorized to validate and verify voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. This is the first group of regulatory institutions - a total of 5 organizations. The selection was carried out by a market regulator based on the principles of rational use of resources, fair competition and efficiency.
Under the law, organizations working in the energy, forestry and other industries must contribute to the establishment of a national market for voluntary carbon reduction units.
Source: SAMR
China and Australia strengthen cooperation in metrology
Under the leadership and support of SAMR, the National Institute of Metrology of China and the National Metrology Institute of Australia signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of metrology. They will strengthen joint research and academic exchange, as well as develop international trade.
During the visit of Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Australia in June, the parties published a final statement on the results of the annual meeting of the prime ministers of China and Australia. They welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of market surveillance in the areas of standards, metrology, competition and food safety. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Source: SAMR
AI market growth
According to a report released at the 2024 World Intelligence Expo, China's core artificial intelligence industry size reached 578.4 billion yuan, up 13.9% year-on-year. The adoption rate of generative AI among Chinese companies was 15%, and the market size is estimated at approximately 14.4 trillion yuan. At the same time, the number of enterprises working in the field of artificial intelligence exceeded 4,000 in 2023.
Source: Chinadaily
China leads in generative AI development
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, China is significantly ahead of other countries in inventions in the field of generative artificial intelligence development. Over the past decade, more than 50 thousand patent applications have been filed in China, 25% of which were filed by 2023.
From 2014 to 2023, China filed more than 38 thousand patent applications for generative AI services, while the United States filed only 6 thousand applications. Next in the top five are South Korea, Japan and India, the latter of which posted the fastest growth rates.
Leading companies include ByteDance, which owns the video app TikTok, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and Microsoft, which backed startup OpenAI, which created ChatGPT.
According to an article on the problems and prospects for the development of AI in China, “China's Generative AI Ecosystem in 2024. Rising Investment and Expectations,” the bulk of developments in the field of generative AI and related innovations occur in the private sector, and Chinese companies and scientists are actively participating in global ecosystems and trends.
