Angela Zhang, Author of the Best Asian Antitrust Academic Article, 2018 Concurrence Antitrust Writing Awards

Congratulations to Angela Zhang whose article “The Antitrust Paradox of China, Inc.” has been recognised as the best academic article in Asian Antitrust in the 2018 Concurrence Antitrust Writing Awards.  These awards reward the best articles published in peer-reviewed journals in 2017.  The Antitrust Writing Awards aim to "promote competition scholarship and to contribute to competition advocacy".  Each year around 100 articles are selected by the Editorial Committee and the readers nominate 20 of these articles.  The Board finally elects 10 winning articles in 10 individual categories.  

     Dr Zhang's article (download here) was published in the New York University Journal of International Law and Politics (2017, Vol 50).  The abstract reads as follows:

Common ownership by the Chinese State caused a stir in Europe recently. During its review of a joint venture involving a Chinese nuclear power company, the European Commission (“Commission”) held that it would treat all Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the energy sector as a single entity. This decision carries significant legal and practical implications for both businesses and the regulator. It also contradicts the Commission’s previous approach to European SOEs. In this Article, I argue that the legal framework under the E.U. Merger Regulation (EUMR) is unsuited to deal with the anticompetitive effects of state ownership. While the delineation of the boundary of an undertaking is a prerequisite for merger review, ownership and control are not absolute. Importantly, the extent to which the coordination by the Chinese State has lessened competition is a quantitative question, rather than a qualitative one. Consequently, a bright-line approach to defining an undertaking is both over and under-inclusive. To address the European Union’s dilemma in handling Chinese SOEs, I propose that the Commission should view national security review as a complement to its merger review. The optimal regulatory response to Chinese acquisitions hinges not only on economics, but also, perhaps more importantly, on politics.