26th EU-China Competition Week

Monday 23 October 2023

Mergers: reviewing vertical mergers – approaches in the EU and PRC

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

08:05-08:30: Opening remarks

• Ms ZHAO Chunlei, Deputy Director General, Competition Policy Coordination, State Administration for Market Regulation
• Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission

08:30-11:00: Vertical mergers – increased scrutiny? Approaches to and case examples of review in PRC and EU

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

Overview:

• Recent approach to vertical mergers – concerns and types of transactions likely to attract closer attention
• EU approach to theories of harm and types of remedies
• PRC approach to analysis and types of remedies
• Case examples

Presentation by

• Mr Fernando Sanchez Carrillo and Mr Youenn Beaudouin, Merger Case Support and Policy, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
• Mr Wu Xingwei, Director, Anti-monopoly Enforcement Department II, SAMR

Q&A

Tuesday 24 October 2023

Competition law enforcement and trade associations – recent experiences in the EU and PRC

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

08:05 – 11:00 Competition law and trade associations – experiences from Europe and the PRC

Overview

• A tougher approach?
• Recent enforcement experiences – case examples
• Details and implications of recent legislative / guideline development

Presentations by

• Mr Antonio CAPOBIANCO, Deputy Head of Competition Division, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• Mr Gui Yang, Expert, Department I of Anti-Monopoly Enforcement, SAMR

Q&A

Wednesday 25 October 2023

State aid and FCRS – managing a consistent application of the rules

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

08:05-09:20 Session I: New regulation on FCRS and ensuring consistency of approach

Overview

• New draft regulation on the Fair Competition Review System
• Central versus provincial approach to FCRS – how to ensure consistency of approach in the application of the rules and principles

Presentation by

• Ms ZHOU Minjia, Deputy Director, Department of Competition Policy Coordination, SAMR

Q&A and discussion session

09:30-10:45 Session II: EU State aid procedures – consistency of approach across the EU and Member States

Overview

• State aid notification procedures
• Promoting compliance
• Best practices on conduct of State aid proceedings, including transparency and predictability, to foster cooperation with Member States

Presentation by

• Ms Graça da Costa, State aid and competition consultant, former DG Competition Senior Expert on State aid strategy

Q&A and discussion session

10:45-11:00 Closing remarks

• Mr ZHOU Zhigao, Deputy Director General, Department of Competition Policy Coordination, State Administration for Market Regulation
• Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission