The State Council has approved working rules for the anti-monopoly committee under the Chinese Cabinet, sources with the committee said on Saturday.

The anti-monopoly law, which took effect on Aug. 1, will focus not only on protecting and facilitating competition, but also on encouraging concentration, acquisitions and mergers to improve efficiency in markets. It will encourage enterprises to become more powerful and competitive, and at the same time, prevent inappropriate mergers which lead to monopoly.

Enforcement of the law will safeguard legitimate interests of all investors, including foreign ones, and prevent malicious mergers of local enterprises by foreign companies at the same time, so as to ensure economic security of the nation, according to the meeting.

Functions of the State Council anti-monopoly committee are as follows:

-- organizing investigations and assessments on the overall situation of market competition, and making reports,

-- making anti-monopoly guidelines,

-- carrying out the law.

Government departments have been ordered to formulate supporting rules for the law and establish databanks on market concentration for different trades.

(Xinhua News Agency September 13, 2008)