Professor blasted for 'secrecy' by helping US company under probe
Qualcomm says Zhang Xinzhu only helped with an economic analysis when the firm was accused of violating the Anti-Monopoly Law
A state-owned news portal condemned a sacked adviser to the government's anti-monopolies committee, accusing him yesterday of "living off the country while secretly helping others".
Xinhuanet.com made the claim against Zhang Xinzhu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, after he was accused of offering consulting services to a US company that is under an antitrust investigation.
"While facing antitrust probes, certain multinational companies ... have been attempting to delay the probes or paying money to relevant 'experts' to gain their support," xinhuanet.com said.
"It is a violation of discipline for relevant 'experts' under contract with the government to 'speak for foreign companies'".
Zhang was sacked as an adviser to the State Council's Anti-Monopoly Committee on the accusation that he was paid "a large sum" by US chipmaker Qualcomm while testifying in the antitrust probe that the company did not engage in monopolistic practices, chinanews.com reported on Wednesday.
Zhang admitted he had offered consulting services to Qualcomm, but denied accepting "a large sum" from the company, caixin.com reported. "When the National Development and Reform Commission [NDRC] launched its antitrust probes into Qualcomm, relevant departments didn't ask for my opinion," Zhang was quoted as saying. "I don't think there's any conflict of interest." Securities Times reported last month that the authorities ruled Qualcomm did have a monopoly and an unfair market position on the mainland. Qualcomm denied any financial dealings with Zhang in response to an inquiry from the South China Morning Post.