Investigations defend market order

The Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China prohibits enterprises from abusing their dominant position in the market. Many multinational enterprises are dominant in China's market, and investigating them is normal if they abuse their dominance to prohibit competition. In other words, the ongoing investigation is targeting their possible wrong deeds, rather than their nationality.

Wang Xiaoye, consultancy expert of Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council, cnr.cn, Aug 6

There are some who say that the current investigation against some multinational giants is retaliation on the United States for its sanctions against Huawei; that's nothing but an excuse foreign enterprises are using to shirk their responsibilities. They have long taken advantage of China's loose supervision and find themselves unaccustomed to even a reasonable investigation.

The European Union, Japan and the US have all conducted anti-monopoly investigations against Microsoft in the past, and the EU has issued fines of hundreds of millions of euros at least three times. Strengthening anti-monopoly investigations into companies that occupy large shares of the market is necessary in order to build a fairer market.

China Business Times, Aug 4

If the automobile giants are confirmed to have broken the Anti-Monopoly Law, the question will become how they will be punished, which will in turn decide whether the prices of automobiles and accessories will return to normal and whether the monopoly can be stopped. Only penalties heavy enough will prevent the relevant enterprises from further strengthening their monopoly. However, local law enforcers might not choose to issue heavy fines because the automobile giants pay large amounts of tax and boost economic growth. Even if heavy fines are issued, the enterprises concerned might lower their prices for lighter penalty or use PR measures, which proved effective in the cases of JLR China and FAW-VW Audi.

dahe.cn, Aug 6

The law should be firm against brands that monopolize China's market; proper anti-monopoly investigations against them will not only defend market order, but also protect consumers' rights. Of course, in order to eliminate monopolies, especially those of multinational firms, China needs more research to develop products with independent intellectual property rights, so as to raise the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises and better meet consumers' needs.

Hangzhou Daily, Aug 6

(China Daily 08/07/2014 page8)