The European Union (EU) is seeking to share its experience and
promote cooperation with China in competition policy, the bloc's
antitrust chief said in an interview with Xinhua on Friday, one day
after China adopted a new anti-monopoly law.
Neelie Kroes, the EU Competition Commissioner who will pay her
first official visit to China next week, said it was a coincidence
that her trip was welcomed by the adoption of the new
legislation.
"The main purpose is to congratulate the Chinese people and the
government for the adoption of the first comprehensive
anti-monopoly law. That is really a historical fact that we are
facing," she said, adding the implementation of a transparent and
non-discriminatory competition regime will benefit the Chinese
economy and Chinese consumers.
The Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress
on Thursday passed the country's first anti-monopoly law, which
will come into effect on Aug. 1, 2008. It marked the end of a key
legislative process lasting more than 13 years.
Kroes said the new law will surely become a major subject when
she has high-level ministerial meetings in Beijing with her Chinese
counterparts on competition policy and on enhancing
cooperation.
"It is an opportunity to get in touch with Chinese officials,"
Kroes said, "We are proud we can be of help. We sincerely hope that
our cooperation will continue and will be as fruitful as it is
now."
The European Commission said Kroes' visit takes place in the
framework of the EU-China Competition Policy Dialogue, a policy
exchange mechanism established in 2003 whose primary objective is
to establish a permanent forum for consultation and transparency
between the two sides, and to enhance the EU's technical and
capacity-building assistance to China regarding competition
law.
"We were quite close in our cooperation, and we are prepared to
give a hand and to offer our experience with our competition policy
and regulations" to China, Kroes said.
Kroes said that, as the new law was passed, she is now
especially interested in how it will be implemented and hopes to
explore ways during her trip to strengthen bilateral relations with
different bodies which will enforce the law in China.
"It (the Chinese anti-monopoly law) was adopted. It is a fact.
Now it has to be implemented, so it is very interesting to discuss
also how to implement it. That is of course the next step. We have
a bit of experience in dealing with competition policy after fifty
years in Europe," she said.
"I am highly interested in what is planned in the next period
and in creating more reciprocal trade and investment opportunities
for both the EU and Chinese operators," she added.
After visiting Beijing, Kroes will travel to Dalian, a seashore
resort in northeast China, to attend a World Economic Forum. She is
also expected to address a group of business people on the EU
competition policy.
The American Chamber of Commerce of China (AmCham-China) has
said that it welcomes the promulgation of the new Anti-Monopoly Law
as a positive step in China's economic development.
AmCham-China Chairman James Zimmerman on Friday described the
law as a "defining moment in the development of China's legal
system, which establishes a basic framework to build a fair,
uniform, and national competition law system that benefits
consumers by recognizing and preserving the incentives to
compete."
The law was passed by China's top legislature on Thursday and
will come into effect on Aug. 1, 2008.
Over the past seven years, the Chinese government has invited
the chamber and its members to provide written comments on various
drafts of the Anti-Monopoly Law.
"We applaud the Chinese government for receiving extensive
comments and suggestions from foreign enforcement authorities,
scholars, antitrust lawyers, and industry groups," said
Zimmerman.
AmCham-China appreciates the Chinese government's willingness to
consider the experiences and perspectives of foreign countries in
formulating its competition policy, he said.
According to Zimmerman, the promulgation of the Anti-Monopoly
Law is only the first step in the establishment of a comprehensive,
nationwide competition regime.
The chamber looks forward to further efforts to enhance law
enforcement, he said.
Zimmerman expressed the hope that China's competition
authorities will focus on modern economic principles and prevailing
international practices when applying the law.
AmCham-China is an organization representing the interests of
more than 2400 US companies and individuals engaged in business in
China.
(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2007)
