Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism

This introductory chapter provides an overview of Chinese antitrust exceptionalism and how it poses challenges to the existing global antitrust policy. Among the world's greatest economic powers, China brings up the rear in adopting modern antitrust law. Despite being a relatively new antitrust regime, China has not hesitated to impose harsh antitrust remedies on offshore merger transactions and intervene in business practices aggressively, departing from the usual approach of Western antitrust authorities. However, China is not only exceptional as an antitrust regulator but also as a target of antitrust regulation. In addition to being the second largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) and a principle importer, China is the world’s largest exporter and one of the leading outward investors. In recent years, the swift expansion of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) into Europe has raised eyebrows of antitrust regulators. Moreover, Chinese manufacturers, coordinated by government-sponsored trade associations, have had to grapple with successive private lawsuits and hefty fines for operating export cartels in the United States.