Anti-monopoly Cases on Unfair Pricing in China

Abstract

Prohibition of unfair pricing is an area that has seen a growing number of enforcement activities in China. Unfair pricing, also called excessive pricing in some cases, is ruled under Article 17, Paragraph 1, of the Anti-Monopoly Law ("AML"), whereby dominant firms are prohibited to "sell commodities at unfairly high prices or buy commodities at unfairly low prices." In this chapter, we will introduce the relevant legal framework and provide a review of recent typical cases. The major cases include the investigation against Qualcomm Incorporated ("Qualcomm") by the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC") and the landmark decision issued by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Huawei v. InterDigital. Both cases are related to licensing patents that are essential to standards. There are also several rulings in the markets of certain essential input products such as natural gas pipelines and essential drugs. Given the role of the Chinese economy in the world, a review of anti-monopoly enforcement in this field would be helpful to practitioners and researchers.