A Brief Analysis of Standards for Resale Price Maintenance Regulations Under the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law

Since the promulgation of the Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”) in China in 2008, the administrative agencies and the courts have adopted different standards when applying the AML to resale price maintenance (“RPM”) agreements. The administrative agencies have adopted a “prohibition + exemption” principle and presumed RPM agreements to be anti-competitive, while the courts have adopted the “rule of reason” approach. This article aims to explore the reasons behind this difference, summari