Enforcing Chinese Antimonopoly Law in the Internet Industry: An Analysis with Special References to Baidu.com

Abstract

Monopolistic mechanisms can be detected in China in many respects through Chinese internet monopolists would outperform their peers in the US or the EU by. The Chinese government endeavors to keep its Internet industry globally competitive and thus authorities involved in antitrust activities tend to tolerate the oligopolistic structure of the market. This is evidenced most obviously in the repression of competitors in certain fields, e.g., 'Baidu,' the 'Chinese Google,' in the field of IT-services - leading to a stricter regime of monopoly control in terms of substantial law. However, in the course of enforcement, various legal and practical challenges impede the efficiency of these measures. This paper analyses existing competition law enforcement and proposes effective application of antitrust law for its enforcement in the Internet industry under present Chinese law.