Competition laws and policies in China and Hong Kong : a tale of two regulatory journeys

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to retrace some of the key factors leading to the enactment of competition law in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the prevailing debates for such laws to be enacted in Hong Kong (HK). The regulatory journeys of one country under two different administrations is another interesting dimension, where one is a modern economy under a quasi-democratic government, the other is a developing one, labelled as a “market economy with socialist characteristics” under a centralised socialist government. Design/methodology/approach – The authors begin with a brief introduction to the PRC Anti Monopoly Law (AML), followed by an overview of the act, and then address the uncertainties in various provisions as well as enforcement issues. The next part devolves into the debates in enacting competition law in HK, which has yet to become law. Findings – Despite the detailed proposal transplanting many ideas from the laws of other modern economies, there are some provisions that are either weak or that continue to safeguard the interest of monopolies in selective sectors. Central to the experiences for both administrations is to balance between conventional wisdom in economic laws and domestic economic interests. Research limitations/implications – Since, the laws in PRC are newly enacted and HK is still in the drafting process, the arguments highlighted in this paper tend to address the current concerns. Originality/value – The value of this comparative paper is to reveal the choice of regulatory strategies in HK and PRC.