The draft of China's anti-monopoly law has been finished and is now under revision and deliberation, Li Dongsheng, deputy director general of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, said Tuesday.

The Anti-Monopoly Law, once approved, would cover many industries and sectors and focus on issues like regional blockades and administrative monopoly, Li said at an international symposium on competitive policies and legislation.

According to Li, its preparation work was initiated in 1994 in an effort to fill the country's lacuna in competition-related legislation.

Currently, only the Anti-Unfair Competition Law enacted in 1993 and a few articles of Trademark Law, Advertising Law and Price Law contain elements against unfair competition.

To secure the smooth development of China's market economy, some experts hold that promulgation of a sound anti-monopoly law is a must. They also categorized monopoly behaviors into three kinds, monopoly by state-owned enterprises with government connections, monopoly by regional governments toward local markets and market monopoly by certain companies.

Official statistics revealed that China's industrial and commercial authorities have cracked 5,200 monopoly cases in sectors like water, power and gas supply, railways, insurance, telecom and postal services over the past five years.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2005)