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China: Closed meeting pressures foreign firms to fess-up, say sources

By  |  August 21, 2013

Sources say a top-level official encourages major international firms, including Siemens and General Electric, to fess-up to any antitrust violations, advising them not to hire lawyers to fight any possible accusations. The meeting, last month, reportedly included examples of letters written by companies admitting to violations in an attempt to encourage other companies to do the same. Two sources say the official delivering the pressure on companies was Xu Xinyu from the National Development and Reform Commission, though independent media outlets have not confirmed this. One source told media that about half of the companies in attendance were under investigation by the NDRC. Experts say the claims back efforts by competition regulators in China to tighten their grip on companies suspected of violating the 2008 Anti-Monopoly Law, and may further reinforce growing tension between China and foreign firms. Regulators recently issued reported record-breaking fines on foreign manufacturers of infant milk formula.

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