Comparing China’s Fair Competition Review System to EU State Aid Control

The promulgation of the Opinions of the State Council on Establishing a Fair Competition Review System During the Development of Market-oriented Systems in 2016 marked the creation of China’s Fair Competition Review System. Interestingly, a remarkable resemblance is found with the EU’s State aid control. The competition authorities of both sides also stress the importance of cooperation in this area. In June 2017 they signed a Memorandum of Understanding creating a dialogue, linking State aid control and the Fair Competition Review System. By means of a comparative analysis and expert interviews, this article focuses on two questions: I)What are the similarities and differences between the EU’s State aid control and China’s Fair Competition Review System regarding objectives, basic provisions and procedures? and ii) What are the reasons for these commonalities and differences?.