Dr. Zhan Hao, Beijing-based Anjie Law Firm Managing Partner

WASHINGTON – Only time will tell if the current overhaul of Chinese antitrust enforcement will improve the enforcement process but hopes are high, according to Beijing-based Anjie Law Firm managing partner Zhan Hao. In this interview, recorded at the ABA’s 2018 annual Spring Antitrust Meeting, Zhan said he believes consolidating China’s three competition agencies into one will result in “more efficiencies, more professionalism, more independence, and more power.”

During the restructuring, however, Hao anticipates many companies in China will be reluctant to bring cases to enforcers, preferring instead to settle their claims in Chinese courts. Also of some concern is the status of current cases under review by the various agencies.

by Whitney McKnight