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
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.
Video of the Book
In the News
Author Op-eds:
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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)
News Coverage:
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Do Fintech Giants Alipay and WeChat Pay have Monopoly Power? China’s New Regulation Leaves Experts Guessing, South China Morning Post, January 21, 2021
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China’s Central Bank Proposes Antitrust Rules for Country’s Booming Online Payments Sector, Pandaily, January 21, 2021
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China's Crackdown on Alibaba Goes Beyond Teaching Jack Ma a Lesson, S&P Global Market Intelligence, January 19, 2021
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Trump’s Final Days Bring New Turmoil to U.S.-China Relations, Bloomberg, January 12, 2021
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China Brings in New Law to Fight Trump's Sanctions, BBC, January 11, 2021
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Jack Ma's Absence Raises More Questions than it Answers Amid Ant and Alibaba Probe, The Straits Times, January 9, 2021
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"Alibaba Antitrust Probe Presents New Challenges for China’s Regulators 12 Years after Implementation of Anti-monopoly Law", South China Morning Post, January 7, 2021
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"Jack Ma was Almost Bigger than China. That's What Got Him into Trouble", CNN Business, January 6, 2021
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"China’s Mighty State Monopolies Cast a Big Shadow over Private Enterprise, but will Antitrust Law and Vows of Reform Level the Playing Field?", South China Morning Post, January 5, 2021