Western media are reading too much into the anti-trust investigations launched by Chinese authorities in recent days. Shen Danyang, a spokesman at China’s Ministry of Commerce, said that the lawful investigations into alleged monopolistic activities will promote fair competition and protect the rights of consumers. Any domestic companies and foreign-funded companies that violate the anti-trust law will be punished.

Quasi-monopolies such as Qualcomm and Microsoft are involved in the anti-trust raid. According to the anti-trust investigations, these powerful companies dominate the market and block competition by taking advantage of their finances, technology and intellectual property. Some experts say that the “super-national treatment” that foreign-funded companies have enjoyed has helped them corner the market. In the early years of opening-up and reform local governments competed against each other in implementing preferential policies, such as free or low-cost use of land and tax exemption, to woo foreign investors. At the time China did not have adequate supervision of monopolistic activities. Yu Fenghui, a financial commentator, said that the policy of “super-national treatment” puts domestic enterprises at a disadvantage, undermines the interests of domestic consumers, and breaks the rules and laws of market economy.

Western media accuse China of taking advantage of the anti-trust law to put pressure on foreign-funded companies. Mei Xinyu is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce. He says that the anti-trust laws of China are moderate in comparison with such laws in other major economies. Microsoft is a frequent target of western anti-trust investigations. It has been probed and penalized by both US and European regulators for its monopolistic activities. Mei holds that China has the right to put pressure on foreign-funded companies which violate the anti-trust laws and force them to correct their conduct.

In fact, China has also punished some domestic companies for their monopolistic activities since the implementation of the anti-trust laws. These include China Telecom, liquor makers Wuliangye Yibin Group and Kweichow Moutai, and other major Chinese companies. Shen stresses that the Chinese government will create an environment that encourages all companies to do business in accordance with laws, build an equality-based market, safeguard the legal rights of investors, and promote cooperation between multinational companies and Chinese companies. He also points out that foreign investors and other investment companies should abide by Chinese law and fulfill their social responsibilities.

This article was edited and translated from 《外企在华欺行霸市吃“黄牌”》, Source: People's Daily，Author: Zhou Xiaoyuan