On January 4, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) punished six liquid crystal display (LCD) makers including Samsung for price fixing. A total of 353 million yuan ($56.73 million) was returned, confiscated and fined.

It's the first time that the NDRC imposed a penalty on foreign companies for fixing prices and the amount of the penalty also set a new record among similar cases.

The fairness, equality and openness of market economies cannot be secured without a legal system. Monopolistic behavior always has a negative impact on market economies, hindering the improvement of management, technology and service quality.

The United States and European countries take a tough stand on fighting monopolies. An array of hi-tech giants, like Microsoft, Intel and Google, have all been sanctioned and punished by the United States and the European Union for their monopolistic behavior.

It was not until August 2008 that China's Antimonopoly Law came into force. During the past four years, the Bureau of Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly of the NDRC have launched investigations into 49 anti-trust cases and imposed administrative penalties in 20 cases encompassing medicine, paper making, LCD panels, cement, insurance and shipping agencies.

NDRC's decision releases a strong signal to safeguard the authority of the legal system and market order.

Taking advantage of China's willingness to attract investment, foreign companies have long enjoyed "super-national treatment" and escaped from punishment despite illicit competition and unlawful acts. Now, the heavy punishment on the six foreign enterprises illustrates that the privileges enjoyed by these companies have gone, never to return.

NDRC's punishment also helps protect the legitimate interests of domestic color TV makers and consumers. The involved companies returned the overpaid 172 million yuan ($27.64 million) to nine major color TV manufacturers including TCL, Skyworth and Haier.

The move is conducive to breaking down technological barriers, allowing countries across the globe to approach the latest breakthroughs.

All of these accused companies have promised to supply color TV makers with LCDs equally and in a sufficient amount, provide equal chances to all purchasers, and further strengthen industrial cooperation and exchanges of know-how.

In the context of increasing anti-monopoly activities, cracking down on price monopolies of domestic companies shouldn't be neglected. Therefore, a national system against price-fixing should be put on the agenda as early as possible.

This is an edited excerpt of an article by Yu Fenghui, a well-known financial commentator, published in National Business Daily