Introduction

The historical, political and economic conditions of China explored in the last chapter have set the scene for a discussion of the current position of competition policy and law in China. The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the present state of the debate on competition policy in academic and government circles, consider the existing legal provisions dealing with competition issues, examine the policy formation process and to comment upon the current drafts of a comprehensive competition statute under consideration by the PRC authorities. The chapter will conclude with consideration of whether the proposed provisions are necessary, sufficient or appropriate to deal with the perceived defects in the regulation of China's ‘socialist market’.

Chinese domestic literature on competition policy and law

The debate as to the nature, form and extent of the economic reform process in China is and has been a very contentious subject. These issues concerning the marketisation of the Chinese economy are hugely important not only to the 1.2 billion Chinese but also to the rest of the world economy. A fully marketised and efficient China would dwarf the world's largest economy, the United States, by a large margin. The economic, political and military implications are not hard to discern. Some have suggested that the twenty-first century will be China's century.2 Internally, the difficulties of attaining that grand vision are all too clear to see and were illustrated in the previous chapter.