

18th-21st March 2019
18th-21st March 2019
18th EU-China Competition Week
The 18th EU-China Competition Week took place between 18th and 21st March 2019 in Beijing, China. Officials from the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition (DG Competition) and the Anti-Monopoly Bureau and Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) of the People’s Republic of China gathered to exchange views and discuss priorities in the field of competition policy.
Representatives from DG Competition and SAMR were joined by an official from the State Aid Monitoring Office of Hungary (SAMO) and officials from various provincial administrations for market regulation and Ministries of the People’s Republic of China. The discussions on competition law and policy were further attended by experts from academia and think tanks.
The Competition Week provided a platform for both sides to address a wide range of topics, including State Aid control in the EU and its Member States, the implementation of the Chinese Fair Competition Review System, merger review and Standard Essential Patents (SEPs).
The 18th EU-China Competition Week builds on a longstanding tradition of biannual competition dialogue between the EU and China. Competition Weeks take place biannually in March and October, when officials from DG Competition and their counterparts in China engage in a dialogue to enhance cooperation and transparency between the EU and China in the field of competition.
The 19th EU-China Competition Week will take place from 14th to 18th October 2019.
AGENDA
Monday 18 March 2019
Implementation of EU State Aid – Perspective from EU and Member States
08:45-09:00: Registration
09:00-09:15: Opening remarks
- Mr YAN Jun, Director General, Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
- Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, International Relations Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
09:15-12:30: Session I – Operation of State Aid in the EU
Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project
Overview:
- Rationale for EU State aid policy
- Basic principles of EU State aid policy, including: prohibition; Treaty exemptions; procedure (notification and standstill obligation, legal and illegal aid, compatible and incompatible aid, implications of illegality and incompatibility); compatibility assessment
- The notion of aid
- State aid procedure: notified aid; illegal aid; existing aid; recovery
Presentation by
- Mr Miek VAN DER WEE, former Head of Unit, Infrastructure and Regional Aid Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
- Ms Anita GYÜRKÉS, Head of Department, State Aid Monitoring Office, Hungary
Discussion and commentary by
- Madam LI Qing, Expert, China Society of Economic Reform / former Director-General Level Official, Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
- Mr HUANG Yong, Professor, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing
Roundtable discussion and Q&A session
12:30-14:00: Lunch
14:00-17:30: Session II – Implementation of State Aid in the EU and at the national level
Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project
Overview:
- General Block Exemption Regulation and its implementation at the national level
- Compatibility assessment criteria for State aid
- Case study on regional aid investment rules
Presentation by
- Ms Anita GYÜRKÉS, Head of Department, State Aid Monitoring Office, Hungary
- Mr Miek VAN DER WEE, former Head of Unit, Infrastructure and Regional Aid Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
Discussion and commentary by
- Mr FU Wenbiao, Director General, Development and Research Centre, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
- Madam LI Qing, Expert, China Society of Economic Reform / former Director General Level Official, Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation
Discussion with all experts and Q&A session
Tuesday 19 March 2019
Process of monitoring and implementing the Fair Competition Review System
and State Aid at the Provincial/local levels and EU Member State level
08:45-09:00: Registration
09:00-12:00: Session II continued – Implementation at the national level and monitoring of State aid rules
Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project
Overview
- National case study on notified regional aid
- Complaints – procedures and case study
- Transparency provisions in State aid
- Ex-post monitoring activity
Presentation by
- Ms Anita GYÜRKÉS, Head of Department, State Aid Monitoring Office, Hungary
- Mr Miek VAN DER WEE, former Head of Unit, Infrastructure and Regional Aid Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
Discussion and commentary by
- Mr ZHU Kai, Official, Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
- Ms MENG Yanbei, Professor, Renmin University of China, Beijing
Roundtable discussion and Q&A session
12:00-13:30: Lunch
13:30-16:45: Session III – Process of monitoring Fair Competition Review System at Provincial/local levels
Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project
Overview
- Progress of the implementation of FCRS
- Mechanism innovation of FCRS
- Case study
Presentations by
- Ms YANG Jiajia, Director, Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
- Mr JU Hanfang, Director, Anti-Monopoly Law Division, Jiangsu AMR
Discussion and commentary by
- Mr Miek VAN DER WEE, former Head of Unit, Infrastructure and Regional Aid Unit, Director-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
- Ms Anita GYÜRKÉS, Head of Department, State Aid Monitoring Office, Hungary
- Ms MENG Yanbei, Professor, Renmin University of China, Beijing
Roundtable discussion and Q&A session
16:45 – 17:00: Closing remarks
- Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, International Relations Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
- Mr YANG Hongfeng, Deputy Director General Level Official, Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
Wednesday 20 March 2019
Mergers: Notion of control and the assessment of Joint Ventures as
merger transactions or agreements
08:45-09:00: Registration
09:00-09:15: Opening remarks
- Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
- Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, International Relations Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
09:15-12:00: Session I – The notion of control in merger review
Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project
Overview
- Uses of the notion of control in merger review
- Acquisition of control
- Exceptions
- Practical examples
Presentations by
- Ms Marta ANDRÉS VAQUERO, Case Handler, Merger Case Support and Policy Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
- Mr XU Lefu, Deputy Director General, Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
Roundtable discussion and Q&A session
12:00-13:30: Lunch
13:30-17:00: Session II – Assessment of joint ventures in merger review
Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project
Overview
- Relevant merger situation and the concept of full-functionality
- Different types of joint ventures
- Competitive analysis
- Case developments
Presentations by
- Ms Marta ANDRÉS VAQUERO, Case Handler, Merger Case Support and Policy Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
- Ms HU Xinyue, Deputy Director Level Official, Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
Roundtable discussion and Q&A session with all speakers and experts
Thursday 21 March 2019
Antitrust: Role of competition law in Standard Essential Patent licensing and
a discussion on excessive pricing and Resale Price Maintenance
08:45-09:00: Registration
09:00-11:30: Session I – SEPs and pricing mechanisms – what role for competition law?
Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project
Overview:
- Balancing IPR and competition
- Calculating FRAND terms
- Implication of EU and MS court decisions
- Implications of AML enforcement and private litigation court decisions
- Use of court injunctions or customs blocks – legitimate use of IP rights or an abuse of dominance?
Presentation by
- Mr Gunnar WOLF, Case Handler, IT, Internet and Consumer Electronics Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
Discussion and commentary by
- Mr ZENG Chuan, Official, Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
Roundtable discussion and Q&A session
12:30-13:00: Lunch
13:30-15:45: Session II – SEPs and competition – regulatory choices
Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project
Overview
- SEPs and competition law: approach in China
- Exploitative or exclusionary abuses
- Identifying dominance of SEP owners
- Identifying undue exclusion in SEP owners’ hold-up conduct
- …
Presentation by
- Mr ZENG Chuan, Official, Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
- Ms CHEN Qianting, Official, Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
Discussion and commentary by
- Mr Gunnar WOLF, Case Handler, IT, Internet and Consumer Electronics Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
Q&A session
Roundtable discussion on excessive pricing (45 minutes)
- Excessive pricing – what is excessive / excessive compared to what?
- How to measure excessive pricing?
Discussion with Mr Gunnar WOLF, Case Handler, IT, Internet and Consumer Electronics Unit, DG Competition, Brussels and Ms CHEN Qianting, AMB, SAMR, PRC
15:45 – 17:15: Session III – Roundtable discussion on Resale Price Maintenance – a comparison of EU and Chinese case law developments
Overview:
- EU and China’s approach to Resale Price Maintenance
Discussion with
- Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
- Ms QI Shuanglin, Official, Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
Commentary and discussion with experts and Q&A session
17:15 – 17:30: Closing remarks
- Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, International Relations Unit, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
- Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation, PRC
PRESENTATIONS
Day 1 - 18 March 2019, Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation
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Day 2 - 19 March 2019, Price Supervision and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation
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Day 3 - 20 March 2019, Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation
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Day 4 - 21 March 2019, Anti-Monopoly Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation
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