NDRC expected to retain key antimonopoly role amid revamp
The agency is likely to be given more powers to assert itself in price fixing and monopoly cases
China will present proposals to revamp its behemoth economic planning agency at an annual parliamentary session this week, sources said, but the organisation’s role as an antitrust regulator could eventually be enhanced.
Chinese and foreign companies, including US technology firms Qualcomm and InterDigital, have fallen afoul of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in recent months as its antimonopoly arm has become more assertive.
The mammoth agency, which has several thousand employees and has sweeping powers to decide on investment, prices and other issues in the world’s second-biggest economy, is striving to retain as much power as possible as it undergoes restructuring.
The crackdown on price-fixing and monopolistic practices should become more pronounced, as the NDRC has said it is ramping up staffing in its antitrust division.
Academics and senior officials have forecast a streamlining of the NDRC since President Xi Jinping vowed to make the economy more responsive to market forces and shift to consumer-focused investment from a state-led model.
Two sources close to senior leaders said proposals have been readied to restructure the NDRC and that these will be discussed at the National People’s Congress annual session beginning on Wednesday.