The Implementation Rules of the Fair Competition Review System (the "Implementation Rules") have been revised by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Justice, together with relevant departments, and  issued recently (details in Chinese version:  http://gkml.samr.gov.cn/nsjg/fldj/202107/t20210708_ 332422.html),  to fully implement the fair competition review system, improve the fair competition review mechanism, and standardize and carry out the review effectively.

The Implementation Rules clearly state that fair competition review shall be conducted to assess the impact on market competition, and prevent the exclusion and restriction of market competition, when administrative organs and organizations authorized by laws and regulations with functions of managing public affairs are formulating rules, normative documents, other policy documents and specific policy measures in the form of "one thing one discussion", which concern economic activities of market entities, such as market access and exit, industrial development, investment promotion, bidding, government procurement, business conduct norms, qualification standards, etc.

The Implementation Rules contain 7 chapters and 31 articles, and the revised contents include general rules, review mechanism and procedures, review standards, exception provisions, third-party evaluation, supervision and accountability, and supplementary provisions. 21 articles were revised, 2 were reserved, 8 were added, and some of the contents in the rules were adjusted where logical structures were not reasonable and the expressions were not clear. The fair competition review table was simplified to enhance the operability and predictability of the system.

The revised Implementation Rules mainly reflect three highlights: greater overall planning, higher standards of review, and stricter supervision and assessment. The review standards thereof include: comprehensively refine the review standards, focusing on the issues of concern to enterprises that hinder the equal and convenient exit from the market, disguise designated transactions in the form of awards and subsidies and implement local protection, and influence the equal use of production factors, etc.; and include specific circumstances into the review standards such as forcing enterprises to transfer technology, forcing the establishment of branches in the local areas, giving preferential policies to specific enterprises and establishing unreasonable project library and qualification database; and further improve the basic rules such as the scope of review, exception provisions, make up the rule gaps and loopholes in time, and effectively enhance the systematism and pertinence of the review mechanism.