Preface to “China Forum on Competition Law”

Beginning with the economic reforms of the late 1970s—especially with the promulgation of the Anti-Monopoly Law in 2007—greater attention has been paid toward antitrustlaw-making and enforcement in China, and more people have begun to devote time to researching and studying competition law. Numerous universities and research institutions have established competition law centers to provide a platform for academic research both at home and abroad. In that way, competition law has drawn the attention of an increasing number of Chinese legal scholars, whose interest in this field continues to grow. Without a doubt, the research undertaken by antitrust scholars has enhanced the development of Chinese competition law, and has improved its effective implementation.

In sync with the rise and development of competition law in China, Chinese academic circles can now count on the China Forum on Competition Law to record the progressive accumulation of writings on the establishment of the rule of law in the Chinese antitrust regime. This includes analyses of key theoretical questions about competition and the market order, as well as research, discussion, debate and rivalry in the market place of ideas in relation to key antitrust questions. Specific topics covered include monopoly agreements, abuse of dominance, merger control, administrative monopolies, anti-competitive use of intellectual property rights, enforcement and international cooperation in law enforcement, and new antitrust developments in the era of globalization. Against the backdrop of economic globalization and the convergence of competition laws across jurisdictions, the China Form on Competition Law takes an international perspective, and pays attention to academic trends and new developments in law-making and enforcement in other jurisdictions.

Academic research is an interminable journey. The journey of the China Forum on Competition Law is to record the development of the rule of law in the Chinese antitrust system. It does so by registering the landmarks visited on that journey. The forum is a platform where domestic and foreign scholars interact with a broad audience to introduce and discuss important questions, and in this way encourage academic research and education on competition law. The China Forum on Competition Law hopes to receive support from Chinese legal scholars, officials from antitrust enforcement agencies, lawyers, business people and international partners in various ways. Friends and colleagues—let us work for a better tomorrow for the rule of law in the Chinese antitrust system, promote a culture of competition in China, and increase our efforts to deepen the market-oriented economic reform.

Wang Xiaoye

Beijing, May 2012