Introduction:

The Anti-Monopoly Law of People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as “AML”) is regarded as the legal basis for the fundamental development of market economy in China, providing legal protection for fair market competition and effective operation of the market economy. China’s AML was promulgated in August 2007 and has taken legal effect since 1 August 2008. Over the past decade, AML has gone through substantive progress in theoretical research, legislation, and enforcement in China, which provides crucial benefits in enhancing China’s socialist market economy system, improving the basic rules of market competition, and realizing the positive role of market mechanism. On 24 June 2022, the 13th National People’s Congress Standing Committee voted at its 35th meeting on amending the AML decision, which has recently come into effect on 1 August 2022 (hereinafter referred to as the “Amended AML”). This update has attracted intensive attention from the academic circle, legal practitioners, and enterprises in the market, etc.

This article will firstly identify the background of the AML and the necessity of the amendment in Part II. An overview of the Amended AML and its guiding policy will be depicted in Part III, and Part IV will focus on the revision’s responses to three controversial topics, i.e., regulations over digital economy, the safe harbor rule, and the enhanced legal liability. Finally, Part V will summarize the article by briefly concluding the key changes and expectations for future practice.