Rabbit, Revisited: Antitrust Enforcement in China

Which brings us to the focus of this note. Longer-term “policy” optimism is important and justified, but it is of little near-term practical value to a client facing a merger review by MOFCOM or a conduct investigation by NDRC or SAIC. Today, when the former asks whether its deal is likely to be delayed significantly by MOFCOM’s review, even if the matter raises few or no significant issues, the answer unfortunately must be “yes.” When the target of an investigation asks whether it can expect transparency and due process, counsel must refer her client to recent press accounts suggesting that, at a minimum, there can be no guarantees. And while one can certainly point to progress—such as MOFCOM’s recently initial steps towards developing a simple and faster review process for transactions that are not likely to raise issues—progress does not equal the certainty which clients and markets require.