The Chinese Supreme Court rules that Chinese antitrust authorities do not have to prove the anti-competitive effects of companies’ resale price maintenance conduct (Hainan Yutai Technology Feed)

NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL – CHINA'S SUPREME COURT PROPOSES NEW FRAMEWORK FOR RESALE PRICE MAINTENANCE* In the last week of June 2019, a copy of a ground-breaking court ruling emerged on social media in China – the order by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) in the case between Yutai Technology Feed (Yutai) and the Hainan Price Bureau. The order provides a direct answer to the question of whether or not the Chinese antitrust authorities bear the burden to prove the anti-competitive effects of companies' resale price maintenance (RPM) conduct. China's highest court found that they do not. Background The case started with an investigation by the Hainan Price Bureau, a local affiliate of the then-antitrust authority with jurisdiction over anti-competitive pricing conduct, the National