On March 14, 2016, “Symposium on Chinese and Hong Kong Competition Law Practice” was held by Dentons Beijing office in Beijing. The symposium attracted over 40 guests from universities, law firms, enterprises, and public institutions.

Yu Xugang, senior partner from Dentons Beijing office, delivered opening remarks. He said, as Dentons became the world’s largest law firm, we should develop a global perspective in our understanding and judgment of a lot of legal issues, including competition law-related issues. The symposium, in his opinion, was a meaningful attempt in this regard.

Mark Williams, founder of Asian Competition Law Forum and a law professor from the University of Melbourne, had an in-depth analysis on Hong Kong Competition Ordinance that took effect on December 14, 2015. He deconstructed the concepts of the First Conduct Rule, the Second Conduct Rule, and the competition law system, compared competition laws of Hong Kong, China, Australia, and the European Union, and made a detailed introduction of Hong Kong’s competition law enforcement system and procedures.

Huang Yong, head of Competition Law Research Center and a law professor at University of International Business and Economics, shared his opinion on hot issues in China’s anti-trust legislation and enforcement and his interpretation on “Anti-Unfair Competition Law (Draft for Examination)”. He pointed out that there would be more and more administrative monopoly as Chinese government interweaved itself with the economy, and that intellectual property would play a more significant role in anti-trust law.

Deng Zhisong, an anti-trust lawyer from Dentons Beijing office, analyzed trends in competition law making and enforcement in China from law practice angle. He said, Chinese antitrust law makers were paying more attention to detail and the scope of the law was broadening, which was more in line with international practice; the antitrust law enforcement in China also showed more vigor and self-confidence and was more procedurally standard; currently, China’s antitrust law enforcement had entered a new era where the strictness, intensity, and quality of law enforcement were experiencing dramatic changes and improvement. Deng also shared his observation on the status quo and tempo of China’s antitrust investigations from a legal practice perspective.

Finally, Dentons antitrust lawyer Zhang Wei shared his interpretation on revised articles on commercial bribe in “Anti-Unfair Competition Law (Draft for Examination)” from the points of view of unification of the subject of law enforcement, restatement of the concept of commercial bribe, forms of commercial bribe, demarcation of accountability of employees and employers, diversification of investigating means, and the intensification of penalty.

The participating guests also raised questions concerning Chinese and Hong Kong competition laws, especially those in relation to legal risk control in businesses. The antitrust team at Dentons Beijing office said they would continue their research in antitrust law and keep an eye on advanced theory and legal practice in this area.