Antitrust Highlights AMAUCC Issues Antitrust Guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Sector: On January 24, 2025, in order to prevent and address monopoly behaviors in pharmaceuticals field, to protect fair competition and safeguard the interests of consumers, the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Commission of the State Council (“AMAUCC”) issued the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Sector, providing clearer and more explicit guidelines for antitrust enforcement and operator compliance in the pharmaceutical field. SAMR: 7,299 Documents Amended Through Fair Competition Review in 2024: On January 7, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) held a press conference to introduce the progress of the building of a unified national market. Reportedly, since 2024, 7,299 policies and measures have been revised nationwide in line with the requirements of Fair Competition Review Regulations. Next step, SAMR will intensify the introduction of the Implementation Rules for Fair Competition Review Regulations, further refine the review standards and clarify the review responsibilities. SAMR Approved 643 Merger Cases in 2024 with 623 Approved Unconditionally: In 2024, SAMR concluded 643 merger cases, of which 623 were approved unconditionally and 19 were withdrawn by the declaring party after acceptance. The vast majority of approved transaction wereified as simple cases and are concluded at the preliminary review stage (within 30 days of acceptance), totally 566 simple cases were concluded in 2024, accounting for approximately 91% of all the approved cases. The domestic investment and M&A market shows steady growth, with more active transactions in industries such as water, electricity and gas, and finance. Antitrust Legislation AMAUCC Issues Antitrust Guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Sector NDRC Issues Guideline for building unified national market Authorities SAMR: 7,299 Documents Amended Through Fair Competition Review in 2024 Guangdong AMR: 2,299 cases of price violation and 901 cases of unfair competition addressed in 2024 Zhejiang Institute of Fair Competition Policy and Anti-Monopoly Inaugurated Jiangsu Promotes Inter-city Cooperation on Fair Competition Policy Hubei Verified 486 Clues of Violating Fair Competition Policies in 2024 Merger Control SAMR Approved 643 Merger Cases in 2024with 623 Approved Unconditionally Public Enforcement Snack Chain Brands “Busy for You” Fined 1.75 Million for Gun-jumping MingLiang Street Lamp Fined 1.75 Million for Gun Jumping Court Litigation SPC: 282 Monopoly Cases Accepted, 243 Concluded Since the Establishment of the Intellectual Property Court Antitrust Legislation AMAUCC Issues Antitrust Guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Sector On January 24, 2025, in order to prevent and address monopoly behaviors in pharmaceuticals field, to protect fair competition and safeguard the interests of consumers, the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Commission of the State Council (“AMAUCC”) issued the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Sector, providing clearer and more explicit guidelines for antitrust enforcement and operator compliance in the pharmaceutical field.[1] NDRC Issues Guideline for building unified national market On January 7, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) issued the Guideline for Building Unified National Market (For Trial Implementation), which requires that the localities and departments implement a unified market access system, maintain a unified system of fair competition, and refrain from introducing policies and measures involving market access and exit, investment promotion, bidding and tendering, and government procurement without a fair competition review or in violation of the review criteria.[2] Authorities SAMR: 7,299 Documents Amended Through Fair Competition Review in 2024 On January 7, 2025, the NDRC held a press conference to introduce the progress of the building of a unified national market. Reportedly, since 2024, 7,299 policies and measures have been revised nationwide in line with the requirements of the Fair Competition Review Regulation. Next step, the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) will intensify the introduction of the Implementation Rules for Fair Competition Review Regulations, further refine the review standards and clarify the review responsibilities.[3] Guangdong AMR: 2,299 cases of price violation and 901 cases of unfair competition addressed in 2024 In 2024, the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation (“AMR”) carried out special price supervision actions, addressed 2,299 cases of price violation and 901 cases of unfair competition. Guangdong AMR has also launched special anti-unfair competition enforcement actions, organized online publicity campaign, issued the Anti-Unfair Competition Compliance Guidelines for Internet Operators in Guangdong Province, addressed 195 cases of internet unfair competition.[4] Zhejiang Institute of Fair Competition Policy and Anti-Monopoly Inaugurated On January 13, the Zhejiang Institute of Fair Competition Policy and Anti-Monopoly was officially inaugurated. The Institute was established to help implement the fair competition policy and anti-monopoly laws and regulations, build the national unified market, create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, rule of law-oriented and internationalized. It is also the first high-end think tank in Zhejiang Province focusing on fair competition policy and anti-monopoly research.[5] Jiangsu Promotes Inter-city Cooperation on Fair Competition Policy On January 2, Changzhou Administration for Market Regulation announced that according to the Framework Agreement on the Integration of Fair Competition Policies of the Three Cities in the Ring Taihu Lake Circle (“Framework Agreement”), the Bureau, jointly with the Wuxi and Suzhou AMR, carried out cross-sampling for fair competition review, and sampled cross-regionally a total of 483 documents. In line with the Framework Agreement, the three cities are establishing a cooperation mechanism to promote the implementation of the fair competition review system and the collaboration in the enforcement of anti-unfair competition laws.[6] Hubei Verified 486 Clues of Violating Fair Competition Policies in 2024 In 2024, Hubei Province systematically improved the implementation mechanism of the fair competition policy, built and applied the nation’s first full-chain fair competition review platform, realized round-the-clock online monitoring of the 3,981 policy and measure drafting units in the province. Hubei reviewed over 12,000 new policies and measures documents in 2024, verified 486 clues of suspected violations of the review standards, and interviewed 18 departments suspected of violating the requirements of the fair competition review system.[7] Merger Control SAMR Approved 643 Merger Cases in 2024with 623 Approved Unconditionally On January 17, 2025, the SAMR issued a notice stating that 643 cases on concentrations of undertakings were concluded in 2024, of which 623 were approved unconditionally and 19 were withdrawn by the notifying parties after acceptance. The vast majority of approved transaction were review in simplified procedure and are concluded at the preliminary stage (within 30 days of acceptance), totally 566 simplified cases were concluded in 2024, accounting for approximately 91% of all the approved cases. Overall, the domestic investment and M&A market shows steady growth, with more active transactions in industries such as water, electricity and gas, and finance.[8] Public Enforcement Snack Chain Brands “Busy for You” Fined 1.75 Million for Gun-jumping On January 3,2025, the SAMR issued an announcement stating that Hunan Busy for You Commercial Chain Co., Ltd. was imposed an administrative penalty for failing to file a prior notification of its acquisition of Yichun Zhaoyiming Food Technology Co., Ltd. The registration of equity change was completed on November 10, 2023. It was assessed that the concentration did not have the effect of excluding or restricting competition, and it was finally imposed a penalty of 1.75 million RMB.[9] MingLiang Street Lamp Fined 1.75 Million for Gun Jumping On January 15, the SAMR issued an announcement stating that the MingLiang Street Lamp Co.,Ltd. of Yunfu was imposed an administrative penalty for gun jumping. The parties completed the registration of equity change during the period when the transaction was publicized. It was assessed that the merger did not have the effect of excluding or restricting competition, and it was finally imposed an penalty of 1.75 million RMB.[10] Court Litigation SPC: 282 Monopoly Cases Accepted, 243 Concluded Since the Establishment of the Intellectual Property Court On January 6, 2025, the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) released the Opinions on Securing Technological Innovation with High-Quality Trial Services (“Opinions”) and the typical cases. Mr. He Zhonglin, deputy chief judge of the Intellectual Property Court of SPC attended the conference and introduced the initiatives on regulating unfair competition and monopoly behaviors in the field of science and technology innovation. The first is to clarify the rules for the application of anti-monopoly laws. The second is to intensify the trial, since the establishment of the Intellectual Property Court, 282 civil and administrative monopoly cases have been accepted, 243 have been concluded. The third is to regulate the unfair competition in the field of scientific and technological innovation in accordance with the law. [11] [1] https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4ZmryRISgPwelMHdipojCA [2] https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xwdt/tzgg/202501/t20250107_1395498.html [3] https://share.gmw.cn/economy/2025-01/07/content_37784229.htm [4] https://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/df/art/2025/art_74fa223366aa4f648ebec7b12d8bf93d.html [5] https://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/df/art/2025/art_0ecd01279d14486ebb53d91bd4f70d5d.html [6] https://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/df/art/2025/art_3b6f5adff93c48128fedb5d7752f700c.html [7] http://www.hubei.gov.cn/zhuanti/2020/scjg/202501/t20250122_5515283.shtml [8] https://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/art/2025/art_772936d903f741548f78d1a901d5c4c8.html [9] https://www.samr.gov.cn/fldes/tzgg/xzcf/art/2025/art_cc5e5798afa44bd28419cae9c9a67a0a.html [10] https://www.samr.gov.cn/fldes/tzgg/xzcf/art/2025/art_3dbfa75d471f4d44aa3a88ebb049ddfc.html [11] https://www.court.gov.cn/zixunzhuantiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hpbmFjb3VydC5vcmcvYXJ0aWNsZS9zdWJqZWN0ZGV0YWlsL2lkL016QXdOQ2d4TTRBQkFBLnNodG1s.html About the Lawyer 邓志松 大成北京　合伙人 zhisong.deng@dentons.cn 邓志松律师主要从事竞争法/反垄断业务，他在对外经济贸易大学获得国际法学博士学位，目前是大成中国区竞争与反垄断负责人。邓律师早在2004年起即参与中国的反垄断立法工作并开始为境内外客户提供法律服务。他处理过数百起境内外并购的反垄断申报并取得了快速和满意的结果，并代理企业应对首起涉及VIE架构交易的未依法申报调查。邓律师曾代理多家国内企业和境外企业应对中国反垄断执法机构发起的有关垄断协议和滥用市场支配地位的调查案件，并在滥用知识产权等复杂反垄断民事诉讼方面具有丰富的实践经验。他为诸多商业交易就反垄断风险提供专业法律意见并协助多家大型跨国企业、国有企业、民营企业和行业协会建立反垄断合规体系。 戴健民 大成上海　合伙人 jianmin.dai@dentons.cn 戴健民律师是第一批在中国实践反垄断法的律师之一，已有超过15年的工作经验。戴律师为医药与生命科学、汽车、物流、半导体等诸多行业的跨国巨头提供反垄断相关法律服务。此外，他长期为向国家市场监管总局、商务部提出经营者集中申报的企业提供意见，在该业务领域拥有丰富经验。戴律师还经常协助企业在中国完成反垄断诉讼，同时擅长帮助企业解决知识产权和反垄断法之间的法律问题。2024年，戴律师当选亚洲竞争法协会副主席。