The American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham-China) on Tuesday welcomed China's anti-monopoly law as a positive step in China's development as a market-based economy.

The law, passed in August last year, takes effect on August 1.

James Zimmerman, AmCham-China chairman, said in a statement on the organization's website it was a defining moment in the development of China's legal system.

AmCham and its members were pleased to have been invited by the Chinese government to provide written comments on drafts of the law.

"The law establishes a basic framework to build a fair, uniform and national competition law system that benefits consumers by recognizing and preserving incentives to compete," he said.

The promulgation of the law was the first step in establishing a comprehensive, nationwide competition regime, and further clarification concerning the law's application in certain key areas was anticipated, said the statement.

These included substantive rules against anti-competitive conduct, substantive standards for administrative monopolies, enforcement mechanisms, and definition of abuses of intellectual property rights and penalties.

Based in Beijing, Amcham-China is a non-profit organization representing interests of nearly 2,700 US companies and individuals doing business in China.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2008)