The national legislature will probably review a controversial anti-monopoly bill in the first half of next year, a top lawmaker said.
Wang Shengming, deputy director of the National People's Congress' legislative affairs commission, told a conference in Shanghai on Saturday that the draft law would likely be submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for a second time, the China Youth Daily reported.
The Standing Committee first reviewed the bill, which has been approved by the State Council, in June. A draft law typically has three readings.
Mr Wang said the draft law was still being amended, with lawmakers soliciting opinions from domestic and foreign companies.
Beijing has been planning the law since 1994. However, the law has been blocked by government bodies and other special interest groups. Analysts say the presence of established state monopolies has obstructed the passage of the anti-monopoly legislation. Some of the mainland's industries - such as telecommunications, railways and electricity - are monopolised by a handful of state-owned companies.
Jiang Yong , director of the Centre for Economic Security Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, recently delivered an attack on special interest groups that have blocked such laws.