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Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism
Overview
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Analyses Chinese antitrust law in the broader context of China's developing global economic presence
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Explores the ways in which bureaucratic missions, cultures, and structures of administrative agencies can play a crucial role in shaping the enforcement agenda, investigative approach, and final regulatory outcomes in China
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Describes how Chinese antitrust law can be transformed into a powerful economic weapon to counter aggressive U.S. sanctions
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Examines the new difficulties that Chinese firms will encounter as the U.S. and E.U. regulators tighten scrutiny over investment and trade from China
A Best Political Economy Book of the Year by Promarket

Description
China’s rise as an economic superpower has caused growing anxieties in the West. Europe is now applying stricter scrutiny over takeovers by Chinese state-owned giants, while the United States is imposing sanctions on leading Chinese technology firms such as Huawei, TikTok and WeChat. Given the escalating geopolitical tensions between China and the West, are there any hopeful prospects for economic globalization?
In her compelling new book Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism, Angela Zhang examines the most important and least understood tactic that China can deploy to counter western sanctions: antitrust law. Zhang reveals how China has transformed antitrust law into a powerful economic weapon, supplying theory and case studies to explain its strategic application over the course of the Sino-US tech war. Zhang also exposes the vast administrative discretion possessed by the Chinese government, showing how agencies can leverage the media to push forward aggressive enforcement. She further dives into the bureaucratic politics that spurred China’s antitrust regulation, providing an incisive analysis of how divergent missions, cultures and structures of agencies have shaped regulatory outcomes.
More than a legal analysis, Zhang offers a political and economic study of our contemporary moment. She demonstrates that Chinese exceptionalism—as manifested in the way China regulates and is regulated, is reshaping global regulation and that future cooperation relies on the West comprehending Chinese idiosyncrasies and China achieving greater transparency through integration with its western rivals.
Book Trailer

In the News
Book Review
Author Op-eds:
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Big Tech is the Regenerative Starfish of Our Times, Nikkei Asia, May 7, 2021
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What Does Beijing Achieve from Regulating Its Big Tech? USALI Perspective, Vol. 1, Number 20, April 20, 2021
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How China's Fragmented Bureaucracy Works to Ant Group's Advantage, Nikkei Asia, Mar 26, 2021
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China’s Regulatory War on Ant, Project Syndicate, Mar 12, 2021
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China is Leaning into Antitrust Regulation to Stay Competitive with the U.S., Fortune, February 9, 2021
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Why Is China Cracking Down on Alibaba?, Project Syndicate, Feb 2, 2021
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The Dangerous Legal War Posing a New Threat to China-US Relations, Nikkei Asia, February 1, 2021
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China's Alibaba Probe Is Not All Bad News , Nikkei Asia, Jan. 8, 2021
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In China, Behave or Face a Campaign, Bloomberg, January 7, 2021
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Should China Wield Antitrust Laws to Counter US Attacks on Huawei Amid Global Tech Competition? South China Morning Post, May 26, 2020
Author Interview
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Angela Huyue Zhang on How China Regulates - The Wire China, December 5, 2021
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Perché ora Pechino ce l’ha con i suoi “gioielli” tech? Intervista a A. Zhang, esperta di diritto cinese (Italian), July 15, 2021
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Fünf Fragen an Angela Zhang by Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb (Germany), July 1, 2021
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ProMarket interview with Angela Zhang: Chinese Antitrust 2.0: Why Is China Going After Its Big Tech?, April 9, 2021
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Oxford University Press Release and Q&A with Author Angela Zhang, March 3, 2021
TV Interview
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Bloomberg TV: HKU Chinese Law Professor Angela Zhang on China's Foreign IPOs Rules, December 2, 2021
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Bloomberg TV: HKU Chinese Law Professor Angela Zhang on China’s Tech Crackdown, October 26, 2021
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CNBC International TV--Chinese Companies Are 'Very Resilient' In The Face Of Tech Crackdown, Says Expert, August 31, 2021
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ABC News Australia--China Cracks Down on Tech and Tutoring Billionaires, August 18, 2021
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DW News--How China is Tightening Control of its Tech Companies, June 18, 2021
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Bloomberg Quicktake--How China Lost Patience with Its Loudest Billionaire, June 10, 2021
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Bloomberg Markets and Finance--Alibaba May Face More Antitrust Issues Down the Road, May 13, 2021
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Bloomberg Documentary--Redlines: China & Big Tech, April 23, 2021
News Coverage:
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PRIMER: China’s Anti-Monopoly Law Amendment, IFLR, August 16, 2022
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Industry Questions China’s Tech Regulatory Ease Off, IFLR, June 22, 2022
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How Beijing Ends its Probe of Didi Global will Shape China’s Post-crackdown Tech Sector, Fortune, June 9, 2022
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After China, the Next Big Move Against Tech Giants is Coming from Europe, Quartz, March 25, 2022
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China’s Regulatory Storm may soon Subside for Big Tech Firms after Xi Jinping’s Right-hand Man Calls for Order and Transparency, South China Morning Post, March 18, 2022
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The Growing Demand for More Vigorous Antitrust Action, The Economist, January 15, 2022
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China Tech Crackdown: Fresh Antitrust Fines on Alibaba and Tencent Signal Continued Scrutiny in 2022, South China Morning Post, January 6, 2022
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China Appoints Potato Scientist to Helm its Elevated Antitrust Bureau, South China Morning Post, November 15, 2021
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China’s Internet Walled Gardens may be Cracking but Users Face a Long Wait for the Bricks to Come Tumbling Down, South China Morning Post, November 13, 2021
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Weibo Sued for Monopolistic Practices Limiting Access to its Data as China’s Antitrust Crackdown Invites New Challenges, South China Morning Post, November 10, 2021
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China Amends Anti-Monopoly Law for the First Time Amid Tech Crackdown, Increasing Penalties and Regulatory Control, South China Morning Post, October 27, 2021
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The Rapidly Changing Investor Calculus on China’s Tech Giants, Techcrunch, October 23, 2021
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Tencent and Alibaba Pledge to Open Up Apps to Competitors, Financial Times, September 14, 2021