Guidelines of the Anti-monopoly Commission Under the State Council Concerning the Definition of Relevant Markets
Guidelines of the Anti-monopoly Commission Under the State Council Concerning the Definition of Relevant Markets
Guidelines of the Anti-monopoly Commission Under the State Council Concerning the Definition of Relevant Markets
May 24, 2009
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 Purpose and Basis of Guidelines
With a view to providing guidance on the definition of relevant markets and improving the transparency of law enforcement work undertaken by the Anti-monopoly Law Enforcement Agency under the State Council, these guidelines have been formulated in accordance with the Anti-monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Anti-monopoly Law).
Article 2 Functions of Defining Relevant Markets
All competitive activities (including activities that have or may have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition) occur within the scope of a certain market. Relevant markets are defined to specify the scope of the market in which operators compete. Anti-monopoly law enforcement work such as forbidding operators from entering into monopoly agreements, forbidding operators from abusing a dominant market position, or controlling the concentration of operators where it has or may have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition, can involve issues over the definition of the relevant market.
Defining the relevant market in a scientific and reasonable manner plays an important role in distinguishing competitors from potential competitors, assessing the market shares and market concentration of operators, determining the market status of operators, analyzing the influence of operators' activities on market competition, determining whether operators' activities are illegal and the legal liabilities assumed for any illegal activities, and other key issues. Therefore, defining the relevant market is usually the starting point in analyzing competitive activities and is an important step in anti-monopoly law enforcement work.
Article 3 Meaning of Relevant Market
The term "relevant market" refers to the commodity scope or territorial scope of the market in which operators compete in relation to a particular commodity or service (hereinafter collectively referred to as commodities) within a certain period. In the course of anti-monopoly law enforcement activities, there is usually a need to define the relevant commodity market and territorial market.
The term "relevant commodity market" refers to the market constituted by a group or category of commodities that the demanders deem to be close substitutes for each other according to their characteristics, purpose, price and other factors. Such commodities have a reasonably strong competitive relationship and, in the course of anti-monopoly law enforcement activities, may serve as the scope of commodities within which operators compete with one another.
The term "relevant territorial market" refers to the geographic region where demanders acquire commodities that are relatively close substitutes for one another.
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