Three ministries' efforts to support the legislative process have hindered progress
The mainland's first comprehensive anti-monopoly law has one main hurdle to overcome before it is enacted - a lack of bureaucratic harmony between the government agencies supporting the legislation.
The State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) recently became the third ministry to release a suggested structural framework to support the new legislation.
The release followed similar support for the anti-monopoly law by the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), according to the Beijing Morning Post.
The newspaper report, which attracted public attention as a rare disclosure of differences among government offices yesterday, prompted a quick denial by the Ministry of Commerce, which claimed responsibility over the legislation.
An official from the ministry's treaty and law department was quoted by Xinhua as saying the report was unfounded as his ministry had been working hard for years to speed up the drafting and review of the new legislation.
Indicating the ministry's work was supported by other government ministries and commissions, the official said all State Council departments acknowledged the urgency for the law after intensive consultations. The ministry had presented the draft anti-monopoly law to the State Council in March and set up an office to carry out related investigations in September, the official said.