Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to retrace some of the key factors leading to the enactment of
competition law in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the prevailing debates for such laws to be
enacted in Hong Kong (HK). The regulatory journeys of one country under two different
administrations is another interesting dimension, where one is a modern economy under a
quasi-democratic government, the other is a developing one, labelled as a “market economy with
socialist characteristics” under a centralised socialist government.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors begin with a brief introduction to the PRC Anti
Monopoly Law (AML), followed by an overview of the act, and then address the uncertainties in
various provisions as well as enforcement issues. The next part devolves into the debates in enacting
competition law in HK, which has yet to become law.
Findings – Despite the detailed proposal transplanting many ideas from the laws of other modern
economies, there are some provisions that are either weak or that continue to safeguard the interest of
monopolies in selective sectors. Central to the experiences for both administrations is to balance
between conventional wisdom in economic laws and domestic economic interests.
Research limitations/implications – Since, the laws in PRC are newly enacted and HK is still in
the drafting process, the arguments highlighted in this paper tend to address the current concerns.
Originality/value – The value of this comparative paper is to reveal the choice of regulatory
strategies in HK and PRC.