Wang Xiaoye, a law researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and an expert who worked on the draft of the Anti-Monopoly Law, told Caijing magazine that having three departments enforce the law would likely reduce its efficiency and lead to unavoidable conflicts and friction among them.

SAIC at the helm

According to the three-way power distribution, the SAIC appears to be the main force in policing anti-monopoly activities. Many law experts initially believed that the NDRC or MOFCOM would have the most authority in enforcing the new law. But Ying said the three-way power distribution came about because SAIC had a wide range of experience in dealing with anti-monopoly practices. In 1994, the SAIC set up a fair trade bureau and put one of its subsidiaries in charge of anti-monopoly cases. In 1998, the organization's structural reform further enhanced its supervision over unfair competition and monopolistic actions. The SAIC currently has more than 70,000 employees who work on fair trade.

From 1999 to 2006, the SAIC carried out special anti-monopoly efforts across the country, focusing on many monopolistic sectors such as water, gas and electricity supply, postal service, telecommunications, transportation, insurance and banking, petroleum and petrochemical industries, cigarettes and salt. By 2006, the SAIC and its subordinate departments at all levels had handled a total of 6,479 monopolistic cases. At the time, there was no law prohibiting monopolistic behavior. The SAIC's law enforcement department performed its duty in accordance with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of China.

The SAIC handles not only industrial monopolies, but also administrative monopolies, where local governments protect the market dominance of a particular company or restrict competition. By enforcing the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the SAIC has prevented many instances of potentially monopolistic behavior from occurring. This is why it naturally has become the main force in executing the new law, Ying said.

Other difficulties

The cost of implementing the Anti-Monopoly Law also poses a problem. Mei Xinyu, an assistant researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under MOFCOM, said in an article in the 21st Century Business Herald that the cost of executing the Anti-Monopoly Law would be astronomical. He cited cases in developed countries where it sometimes took relevant authorities several years and millions of dollars to investigate monopolies. For instance, the U.S. anti-monopoly case against AT&T Corp. took more than 10 years.

Mei pointed out that China's anti-monopoly authorities would have limited power over transnational monopolistic actions. The monopolistic activities of some multinational companies in China have raised concern