23rd EU-China Competition Week

Monday 28 March 2022

Implications of the EU’s Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act proposals for gatekeepers and large platforms and the interaction of the regulatory proposals with EU competition law; Update on competition law and policy developments in the PRC

07:45-08:00: Registration / Virtual room open

08:05-08:30: Opening remarks

• Mr Zhou ZHIGAO, Deputy Director General, Competition Policy Coordination Bureau, State Administration for Market Regulation
• Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission

08:30-09:45: Session I – Update on the Digital Markets Act proposal and its interaction with the Digital Services Act proposal and EU Competition Law

Moderator: Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project

Overview:

• The scope and coverage of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) – the objectives, targets, types of provision, enforcement and sanctions envisaged by each Act.
• Objectives and operation of the “gatekeeper” provisions under the DMA
• Interplay between the proposed DMA and existing competition enforcement tools.

Presentations by:

• Mr Niklas BRUEGGEMANN, Policy Officer, Digital Markets Act Task Force, DG Competition, European Commission

Q&A

09:45-11:00: Session II – Update on competition policy and legislative developments in the PRC

 Overview:

• Update on the legislative timetable for the revision of the Anti-Monopoly Law
• Update on recent and proposed revisions to existing guidelines and regulations
• Update on SAMR’s enforcement priorities
• Overview of the new reorganisation of the National Anti-Monopoly Bureau and the roles and functions of the new divisions and its interaction with SAMR.

Presentations by

• Mr CAI Junfeng, Director, Legal Supervision Division, Competition Policy Coordination Department, SAMR

Q&A

Tuesday 29 March 2022

Procedural aspects of merger control: experiences with (i) stop- the-clock mechanisms and (ii) gun-jumping rules

07:45-08:00: Registration/ Virtual room open 

08:05 – 09:30 Session I – The use of “stop-the-clock” mechanisms in merger review

Overview

• Rationale for using stop-the-clock in merger review
• The timing of stop-the-clock decisions in the merger review process
• Balancing the use of stop-the-clock decisions against predictability and legal certainty for the parties
• Experiences with using stop-the-clock in practice.

Presentation by

• Ms Sara PEREIRA NOGUEIRA, Associate Deputy Director in the Services Directorate, Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC)

Q&A

09:30 – 11:00 Session II – Practical experiences with gun-jumping rules

Overview

• Prohibition of gun-jumping under the AML and regulations
• Actions that constitute gun-jumping
• Implications and consequences of breaching gun-jumping provisions
• Experiences with gun-jumping.

Presentation by

• Ms ZHAO Lili, Director, Concentration Supervision and Enforcement Division, Anti-monoply Enforcement Department II, SAMR

Discussion and Q&A with

• Mr Juan CARRERO ROIG, Chief Competition Inspector in the Services Sub-directorate, Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC)

Wednesday 30 March 2022

EU State aid – the block exemption system; Update on implementing the Fair Competition Review System

07:45-08:00: Registration / Virtual room open

08:05-09:40 Session I: EU State aid and the block exemption process

Overview

• Overview of the block exemption system whereby Member States may grant State aid without prior notification and European Commission approval.
• Recent developments and amendments to the General Block Exemption Regulation.
• Practical case examples.

Presentation by

• Ms Zlatina TONCHEVA, State Aid Case Support and Policy, Directorate-General Competition, European Commission

Q&A

09:45-11:00 Session II: Implementation of the Fair Competition Review System

Overview

• Update on the implementation of the FCRS, including policy developments and impact of recent guidelines
• Recent case examples of the application of the FCRS.

Presentation by

• Ms JIN Jing, Director, Fair Competition Review Division, Competition Policy Coordination Department, SAMR

Q&A

Thursday 31 March 2022

Competition concerns and enforcement in the Pharmaceutical and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient sector

07:45-08:00 Registration / Virtual room open

08:05-10:45 Anti-competitive conduct in the Pharma and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient sector

Overview:

• Characteristics of competition in the pharma sector
• Types of anti-competitive conduct and competition concerns
• Tension between competition law and intellectual property in the pharmaceutical sector
• Enforcement and policy responses.

Presentations by

• Ms CHEN Qianting, Deputy Director, The Second Abuse Enforcement Division, Anti-monoply Enforcement Department I, SAMR

Q&A

• Ms Claudia DESOGUS, Italian Competition Authority (30 mins)

Discussion

10:45 – 11:00 Closing remarks

• Mr CHEN Libo, Competition Policy Coordination Department, SAMR
• Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission