Companies fined in anti-monopoly efforts︱多家巨头违反《反垄断法》被罚

China's top market regulator fined companies including Alibaba Group, Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd for violating the Anti-Monopoly Law, which industry experts said on Sunday is a broader part of normalized antitrust efforts following the recent setup of the anti-monopoly bureau.

近日，国家市场监督管理总局对阿里巴巴（中国）网络技术有限公司、百度在线网络技术（北京）有限公司和腾讯控股有限公司等违反《中华人民共和国反垄断法》的企业作出行政处罚决定。业内专家指出，《反垄断法》是继反垄断局挂牌后，深入推进常态化反垄断执法的重要部分。

Specifically, these companies failed to declare the concentration of business operators according to law. Concentration of business operators means that a business operator obtains control over another in the same business, which may lead to monopoly.

具体而言，受罚企业均构成未依法申报违法实施经营者集中。经营者集中，是指一个或多个个人或企业获得对其他企业全部或部分的控制权。若经济力量过度集中，则会导致垄断。

On Saturday, the State Administration for Market Regulation imposed a 500,000 yuan ($78,000) fine for each of 43 cases that violated the Anti-Monopoly Law. None of these deals, however, had the effect of eliminating or restricting competition, the market regulation authority said on its website.

11月20日，国家市场监督管理总局对43起违反《中华人民共和国反垄断法》的案件立案调查，对涉案企业分别处以50万元罚款。而市场监管总局在其网站上进一步表示，“评估认为上述案件不具有排除、限制竞争效果”。

"Through a series of anti-monopoly efforts recently, the country's antitrust law enforcement has become more systematic and normalized. The nation has striven to draw a clear bottom line and set up a red light for all companies," said Wang Jian, an expert at the advisory group of the Anti-Monopoly Commission of the State Council, China's Cabinet, and a professor of law at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University.

浙江理工大学法政学院教授、国务院反垄断委员会专家咨询组成员王健指出，最新出台的一系列反垄断举措，标志着国家反垄断执法变得愈发系统化、规范化；政府已划出清晰的法律底线，为所有公司亮起红灯。

Of the 43 cases, 13 involved Tencent and its subsidiaries, including the tech company's acquisition of China Medonline Inc. Up to 12 cases were related to Alibaba and its subsidiaries, including its acquisition of the mapping company Amap and purchase of stakes in the food delivery company Ele.me.

立案调查的43起案件中，13起涉及腾讯及其收购的，如中国医疗在线等多家子公司；12起涉及阿里巴巴及其收购或入股的多家子公司，其中就包括“高德地图”——高德软件控股有限公司和在线外卖平台饿了么。

"The review takes the form of prior supervision for business activities that have or may have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition. It is an effective way to avoid restricting of competition in the market," said Zhong Gang, executive director of the Competition Law Research Institute at the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai.

华东政法大学竞争法研究中心钟刚介绍称，“对具有或可能具有排除、限制竞争效果的商业活动采取事先监督的审查形式，是避免垄断的有效途径”。

"Asking companies to declare the concentration of business operators will help maintain a fair competition environment for all market entities, which ultimately will protect consumers' interests," he added.

他补充说，要求企业申报经营者集中，有助于为所有市场主体维持公平竞争的环境，旨在保护消费者的利益。

The move also came as China launched an anti-monopoly bureau on Thursday that is located in the same building as the State Administration for Market Regulation in Beijing. Gan Lin, currently vice-minister of the market regulation authority, was appointed to head the bureau.

11月18日，国家反垄断局正式挂牌，与国家市场监管总局三里河办公区同楼。国家市场监管总局副局长甘霖成为国家反垄断局首任局长。

"Such new changes reflect that the country is enriching in-house capabilities for greater enforcement and autonomy regarding antitrust matters," said Liu Xu, a research fellow at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute.

清华大学国家战略研究院特约研究员刘旭表示，这些新变化均反映出国家正在强化内部能力，以充实反垄断执法力量，加强反垄断执法的自主性。

"It is also part of China's broader efforts to align with antitrust law enforcement of the United States and Europe, both of which have a much larger antitrust workforce than that of China," Liu added.

刘旭还补充道，当前欧盟委员会、美国联邦政府的反垄断执法人员都远多于国内，与美国和欧洲反垄断执法部门保持一致，也展现出中国对与中国市场有关的所有贸易伙伴国负责的态度。

normalized

英 [ˈnɔːməlaɪzd]；美[ˈnɔːrməlaɪzd]

v. 正常化；常态化

concentration of business operators

英 [ˌkɒnsnˈtreɪʃn ɒv ˈbɪznəs ˈɒpəreɪtəz]；美[ˌkɑːnsnˈtreɪʃn əv ˈbɪznəs ˈɑpəˌreɪtərz]

（法）经营者集中

antitrust

英 [ˌæntiˈtrʌst]；美[ˌæntiˈtrʌst]

adj. 反垄断的

subsidiary

英 [səbˈsɪdiəri]；美[səbˈsɪdieri]

adj. 次要的；附属的

n. 子公司

多家巨头违反《反垄断法》被罚 03:14 Share

China Daily Podcast

Shownotes Transcript

多家巨头违反《反垄断法》被罚