China: US slams China AML as having ‘no basis in economics’

The US Chamber of Commerce has reportedly reached out to the White House urging a firm grip of China and its competition regime as US corporations increase their concern that China’s antitrust regulation is threatening business ties.

The Chamber of Commerce reportedly sent a private letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew last month urging officials to “secure commitments from China” through bilateral discussions regarding competition enforcement. The letter also reportedly slammed China’s efforts to address the issue were “insufficient.”

”There is significant risk to the US economy that US companies will increasingly be coerced into abandoning deals that would be good for markets and consumers because AML enforcement in China has no principled basis in competition law or economics and is informed by China’s industrial policy goals,” the letter said.

The Chamber of Commerce confirmed the letter, but its recipients declined to comment.

Criticism has mounted in recent years over China’s antimonopoly policy, at times accused of unfairly targeting foreign companies and threatening international business ties. The tensions have been strained even further following revelations last week that the US indicted five Chinese officials over allegations of hacking into US computers.

Full content: Reuters

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