Susan Ning and Yin Ranran

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that its Anti-monopoly Bureau is to put up a signboard for the "Office of State Council’s Anti-Monopoly Commission (AMC)".  According to Mr. Yao Jian, a spokesman for MOFCOM, the State Council has approved the formal establishment of the AMC Office (even though the AMC Office has been operational within MOFCOM since the enactment of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) in 2008).  

As the third anniversary of the AML draws near, Mr. Yao expects that this move will further enhance effective enforcement of the AML and the coordination among the various ministries under the AMC.

Background

The Anti-Monopoly Commission (AMC) is the advisory and policy arm amongst the list of agencies enforcing and implementing the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML).  Specifically, the AMC is responsible for organizing, coordinating, and providing guidance for implementing the AML (see Article 9, AML).  Functions of the AMC include drafting competition policies, formulating and issuing anti-monopoly guidelines and coordinating anti-monopoly administrative enforcement matters.

The AMC was established in 2008 with the enactment of the AML.  It consists of officials from the State Council and other government agencies.  Currently, the officials who serve on the AMC include:

(1) Director: Vice-Premier of the State Council;
(2) Vice-Directors:
a. Minister of MOFCOM;
b. Director of the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC");
c. Director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce ("SAIC");
d. Vice-Secretary-General of the State Council.
(3) Commissioners:
a. Vice-Minister of MOFCOM;
b. Vice-Director of the NDRC;
c. Vice-Director of SAIC;
d. Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology;
e. Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Supervision;
f. Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Finance;
g. Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Transport;
h. Deputy Director-General of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission;
i. Vice-Director of the State Intellectual Property Office;
j. Vice-Director of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council;
k. Vice-President of the China Banking Regulatory Commission;
l. Vice-President of the China Securities Regulatory Commission;
m. Vice-President of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission;
n. Vice-President of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.