An engineer debugs a piece of industry-leading MOCVD equipment that makes LED at a chip-making equipment manufacturing base in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi Province on Monday. After entering the market, the equipment reduced the US' and Germany's monopoly in the sector, local news site ncnews.com.cn reported in April. It also saves costs of between 30 and 35 percent compared with those made by other countries and regions, said the report. Photo: VCG

China is seeking to bolster laws and regulations to combat monopolies in the country with a sweeping overhaul that raises punishments for offenders and covers new business models, as part of a broad push to improve the market climate for both domestic and foreign businesses amid persistent downward pressure on growth.

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Thursday released draft amendments to the anti-monopoly law and sought public comment through the end of January.

The amendments included increased punishment for violations of the antitrust laws. Under the draft amendments, if the Antitrust Law was broken, all earnings from the illegal activities will be confiscated plus a fine of 1-10 percent of the offender's total revenue in the previous year, according to the SAMR.

"The overall direction is that anti-monopoly regulations and enforcement are getting tighter," Chen Danzhou, an assistant professor at the School of Law at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Chen, who focuses on anti-monopoly laws, noted that, apart from tougher punishment, regulations and laws need to be updated to cover more new business models, such as the internet sector and foreign companies.

According to the amendments, the law will apply to all businesses operating in the Chinese market, including companies that engage in monopoly activities overseas, which also have an impact on the Chinese market. 

When it comes to internet companies, several factors, including their online impact, scale and handling of data, will also be taken into consideration in antitrust cases.

The amendments come as regulators have stepped up their crackdowns on monopoly activities in the country. Last week, the SAMR issued a hefty fine of 87.61 million yuan ($12.5 million) to the China unit of Japanese automaker Toyota for violating antitrust laws by setting minimum resale prices for its luxury brand Lexus cars.

In the third quarter of 2019, the SAMR launched 23 cases related to antitrust laws in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cars, electronics and semiconductors, latest data from the regulator showed. 

"This is all part of the national effort to improve the market climate and provide a fairer market for not just domestic companies but also foreign businesses as we open up further," Tian Yun, a vice president of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times on Thursday, pointing to measures China has taken recently.

As downward pressure continues to linger in the world's second-largest economy, Chinese policymakers have made improving the business climate and further opening up as top priorities to ensure long-term steady growth.

On Wednesday, a new Foreign Investment Law, which guarantees greater market access and protection for foreign investors, officially went into effect.