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2024 Antitrust China Annual Review

China’s Evolving Antitrust Landscape: Key Trends from 2024 & What to Expect in 2025

As we move into 2025, China’s antitrust enforcement continues to evolve, reshaping compliance expectations for businesses navigating one of the world’s most complex regulatory landscapes.

Our 2024 China Antitrust Annual Report offers an in-depth analysis of last year’s key developments and provides insights into what lies ahead. Here are some of the major themes shaping the future of antitrust regulation in China:

Stronger Enforcement-Judiciary Collaboration – New regulations and judicial interpretations aim to bridge gaps between enforcement actions and litigation.

From Penalization to Prevention – A growing emphasis by the Chinese antitrust regulators on proactive compliance measures rather than relying solely on penalties.

Scrutiny on Areas Affecting Public Welfare – Heightened focus on industries critical to public welfare, including healthcare, automotive, and utilities.

Merger Control Reforms – Increased notification thresholds and streamlined review procedures for simple cases to enhance regulatory efficiency, allowing resources to be dedicated to complex cases.

Antitrust & Geopolitics – Intensified scrutiny on semiconductors and foreign subsidies amid escalating global competition.

Digital Economy Oversight – Stricter regulations on unfair competition, platform governance, and consumer protection.

With rising investigation/litigation risks, shifting regulatory priorities, and an increasing emphasis on fair competition, businesses must stay ahead of these changes to manage compliance effectively.

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Five key “takeaways” from Hong Kong’s online food delivery platform investigation

Our Hong Kong competition team acted on the landmark Hong Kong online delivery platform investigation. The case stands out as one of the Hong Kong Competition Commission’s most important, complex and widely-publicized enforcement actions to date, also reflecting its emphasis on the regulating digital platforms and the digital economy. In this article, the team presents their insights and key “takeaways” on the case.

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PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2024)

2023 flung the world into a sea of uncertain challenges, spurred on by the relentless pace of shifting geopolitical sands and game-changing technology. In 2024, faced with contagion risk posed by the twin threats of rising global debt and de-globalization, China’s financial markets will continue to steer choppy waters. However, thanks to top-level innovation and responsiveness, resolve and resilience in these uncertain times, China’s financial regulation and institutional reform should continue to ensure that the financial services sector both plays its role as the invisible hand guiding the real economy and enhances risk prevention.

This year, Fangda Partners continues to make its contribution to the financial services sector by lending our professional perspective on the markets to provide forward-looking guidance to our clients. In our long-awaited series of “PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2024)”, we provide in-depth analysis and unique perspectives to capture the defining moments of significance of both present and future times. In this new year full of possibilities, we look forward to join you in defining the new chapters of the financial services sector in China.

Finding certainty in the midst of uncertainty and helping our clients to achieve stable and long-term development are the unremitting pursuits of Fangda’s Financial Industry Group. We advise both domestic and overseas clients on their most cutting-edge and complex legal issues involved in China’s financial services sector. We are at the forefront of significant initiatives in such sector, leading the market’s most groundbreaking transactions and developing new product structures. With our profound and unrivaled understanding of the market, we are able to provide creative solutions to our clients in a complex and changing financial regulatory environment. As can be seen from this Report, there are many complexities in China’s financial regulatory environment. We understand those complexities and can help navigate our clients through them, to make sure they can achieve their commercial objectives.

We welcome and highly appreciate feedback from those working directly in the financial services sector. Please feel free to get back to us with any comments or suggestions on the content of this report.

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Antitrust China Annual Review 2023

Fangda is proud to present our insights and reflections on China’s competition law for the fifth consecutive year. We invite you to download our “Antitrust China Annual Review 2023”. Our annual review examines ten significant trends in China’s antitrust landscape in 2023 and presents the forecasts for 2024.

READ OUR 2023 ANTITRUST CHINA ANNUAL REVIEW.

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Playing offence: China’s battle to (merger) control semiconductors and critical technologies

Originally published in Competition Law International (June 2023), our antitrust team provides practical insights on China’s merger control review of semiconductor deals and how assurances regarding security of supply of semiconductor technologies, materials and equipment are increasingly accepted as effective “remedies” for approving deals in the face of a tricky political climate and harsher foreign export control measures. The article takes an in-depth look into the politics and antitrust assessment of semiconductor deals.

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PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2023)

We look back into the year 2022 and see both challenges and opportunities. 2022 would be remembered as a turbulent year, regrettably and largely for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global inflation and the impact of the pandemic, negatively affecting the markets. Despite all these challenges, 2022 would still be celebrated as the year of transition and rebirth, during which uncertainties on certain matters are gradually eliminated, while opportunities are gestating amidst challenges with brighter prospects in the near future.

The best way out is always through. Confronted with the complex and unpredictable international environment in 2023, we believe that Chinese financial industry will stay true to its founding principles, following the general guideline of “prioritizing stability while pursuing progress” and adhering to the aim of serving the real economy. Financial policies will be developed under regulation to support the “economic recovery” and hold on to the bottom line of risk prevention and financial security, continuing to build the financial regulatory and judicial system with Chinese characteristics.

To walk into the future in retrospect, the PRC Financial Regulation: Annual Report (2023) issued by Financial Industry Group of Fangda Partners comes in time. We have prepared this PRC Financial Regulation: Annual Report (2023) to provide forward-looking guidance for you, covering milestone events, main regulatory developments and outlooks in the sectors of banking, securities and futures, asset management/wealth management, FinTech and insurance and a special sector of green finance and carbon markets.

Finding certainty in the midst of uncertainty and helping our clients to achieve stable and long-term development are the unremitting pursuit of our Financial Industry Group of Fangda Partners. We advise both domestic and overseas clients on the most cutting-edge and complex legal issues involved in China’s financial service sector. We are at the forefront of significant initiatives in such sector, leading the market’s most groundbreaking transactions and new product structures. With our profound understanding of the market, we are able to provide creative solutions to our clients in a complex financial regulatory environment.

We believe that, as market participants, you may have your comprehensive and practical observation and understanding of the market. If you have any comments or suggestions on the content of this report, please feel free to contact us. We have been committed to China’s financial service sector for many years and are looking forward to observing the market, facing the changes and identifying the future trends together with you and are willing to have your thoughts and feedback!

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Antitrust China Annual Review 2022

China’s competition law regime continues to evolve with a range of legislative amendments introduced last year. In this year’s annual review, our antitrust team dives into the key reforms, investigations and deals of 2022 in China. We shed light on the key issues and trends that are expected to feature high on the antitrust agenda for 2023, including the impact of continued trade tensions and geopolitical rivalries escalating.

READ OUR 2023 ANTITRUST CHINA ANNUAL REVIEW.

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PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2022)

2021 was a year of significance, as in 2021, China embarked on its Fourteenth Five-Year Plan and marched on from its first centenary goal towards its second centenary goal of becoming a great modern socialist country and achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. 2021 was also a year full of challenges, as China faced the recurrent menace of COVID-19 and the volatile intricacies of the international environment. Against the long-term coexistence of such opportunities and challenges, the financial regulators, in its regulation, continued to uphold the underlying principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability and the overarching policy of reform and innovation, in further support of the high-quality development of China’s economy.

With the deepening of reforms and continuing innovation of technology, the concept, framework and system of financial regulation in China will enter a new phase in 2022.This year is also the third year we present our PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report. For this new edition of the PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2022) series, we provide a comprehensive review of the principal themes of 2021 covering milestone events, main regulatory developments and key trends in the banking, securities, asset management/ wealth management, financial technology and insurance sectors, as well as looking ahead to the likely developments in 2022 in financial regulations, to provide practical and forward-looking guidance for all those engaged in financial services.

We are dedicated to provide effective, creative and timely legal services to meet the commercial needs of our clients. We have been working in the financial services sector for many years, advising both domestic and overseas clients on their most cutting-edge and complex legal issues in China’s financial services sector. We offer an in-depth understanding of the market and considerable transaction experience to deliver a highly valued service to our clients. We look forward to discussing with you the recent reforms in China’s financial policy and direction of development of financial regulations.

We welcome and highly appreciate feedback from those working directly in the financial services industry. Please feel free to get back to us with any comments or suggestions on the content of this report.

To review the old and gain the new, we look forward to stepping into the new journey of 2022 with you!

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Antitrust China 2021 Annual Review

As the world emerges from the pandemic, trade tensions and political disagreements remain. Going into 2022, expect greater antitrust enforcement and closer scrutiny of transactions in sensitive sectors. In our definitive Antitrust Review, Fangda’s antitrust team has conducted a sweeping analysis of the key legislative and transactional developments in 2021 in China, breaking it down into numbers of cases, decisions and challenges combined with sector-specific regulatory and enforcement developments. For anyone interested in China-related antitrust matters, this report is an essential reference.

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PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2021)

2020 will be remembered as a historic year for many reasons, regrettably and largely for the unprecedented pandemic and the complicated and severe international situation. Despite all these challenges, the Chinese financial sector has undergone huge change over the past year, signaling the determination of China’s policy makers and regulators to carry through fundamental financial reform and opening-up.

During the year, a number of laws of major significance to the financial market including the Securities Law were amended and implemented or published for public opinion, laws and practice to eliminate “mandatory repayment” continued to progress, the opening-up policy was further implemented, regulation of internet finance were fully incorporated into regulation of the whole financial sector, and the “Yuan You Bao” event, which exposed poor risk management, gave rise to a further crop of new challenges for targeted risk control and regulation.

The year 2021 marks the beginning of China’s Fourteenth Five-Year Plan, and heralds deepened regulatory reform and opening-up policies on an expanded scale. 2021 is also the second year for our PRC Financial Regulation: Annual Report series, which examines developments of the previous year and provides a glimpse into the future to help businesses position themselves in China for the forthcoming year.

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Antitrust China 2020 Annual Review

COVID-19 has reshaped antitrust policies and procedures. Rising trade tensions have resulted in more measures targeting Chinese investments globally. China’s playbook for building some of the world’s most admired domestic tech companies has come under fire. Read Fangda’s Antitrust Annual Review to find out about the major developments of 2020 that will shape antitrust in China in the future.

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The Bluebook for Chinese Companies: Responding to Intellectual Property Litigations in the U.S.

As China transforms from being a major user of intellectual property into a very significant producer and creator of intellectual property, Chinese companies are increasingly finding themselves needing to protect their intellectual property as they expand into overseas markets. Often, this involves having to protect their intellectual property in the courts. For various reasons, including lack of experience, Chinese companies usually have little guidance when responding to IP litigation initiated by U.S. high-tech companies before the U.S. courts.

With our huge experience, Fangda’s IP team has reviewed and researched the IP litigation cases that Chinese companies have faced in the U.S. in recent years. In this Blue Paper, we provide detailed analysis and practical suggestions for Chinese companies on how to mitigate the risks of being sued in the U.S., how to improve management of their intellectual property, how to respond to legal actions in the U.S., and how to control litigation expenses, among other useful tips and pointers. In addition, we offer guidance on both procedural and substantive defense strategies with specific reference to patent and trade secret litigation in the U.S.

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Latest Edition of China’s Compliance Guide

Fangda Partners, together with China Institute of Corporate Legal Affairs and the Corporate Compliance Committee of CCPIT, has launched the latest edition of an indispensable guide for Chinese business. The 5th edition of China’s Annual Corporate Compliance Bluebook is any Chinese company’s first reference point when navigating China’s increasingly complicated and heavily regulated landscape. The guide features analysis and insight into global compliance in multiple jurisdictions, the principal risks facing business when complying with regulations, key trends in legislation and, in particular, what Chinese business needs to know and do when venturing abroad.

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Antitrust China 2019 Review

China has become a pivotal antitrust jurisdiction alongside the U.S. and Europe and is increasingly the antitrust center of Asia. In the last eleven years since the implementation of China’s AML, we have seen the mindset and practices of China’s competition authorities change. Fangda’s annual review examines ten trends in China’s antitrust regime in 2019 and presents the forecasts for 2020.

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Annual Financial Regulatory Report 2020

2019 marked the third full year since the holding of the Fifth National Financial Work Conference, which was a landmark event heralding the transformation of China’s financial services industry. During the year, financial regulation underwent significant change, the market was further opened to foreign participation and, generally, the process of market reform accelerated. Some notable developments included the launch of the STAR market, the trialing of the registration system, commercial banks being permitted to open wealth management subsidiaries, and the implementation of the loan prime rate (LPR) as the benchmark lending rate. The combined result of these changes spelled out major opportunities for businesses in financial services.

We have been working in the financial services industry for many years. We have a deep understanding of the market, which we know is very important for our clients. We look forward to discussing with you the direction in which financial services in China is headed, talking you through judicial thinking, reviewing recent reforms in China’s financial policy, and giving insight into likely developments. To this end, we have prepared this Annual Financial Regulatory Report (2020) to provide practical and forward-looking guidance, covering milestone events, main regulatory developments and key trends in the banking, securities, asset management, financial technology and insurance sectors.

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/Practice

2024 Antitrust China Annual Review

Five key “takeaways” from Hong Kong’s online food delivery platform investigation

PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2024)

Antitrust China Annual Review 2023

Playing offence: China’s battle to (merger) control semiconductors and critical technologies

PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2023)

Antitrust China Annual Review 2022

PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2022)

Antitrust China 2021 Annual Review

PRC Financial Regulation Annual Report (2021)

Antitrust China 2020 Annual Review

The Bluebook for Chinese Companies: Responding to Intellectual Property Litigations in the U.S.

Latest Edition of China’s Compliance Guide

Antitrust China 2019 Review

Annual Financial Regulatory Report 2020