Price-fixing, Chinese Style, Pt. 2

I guess price-fixing isn’t acceptable in China, after all. According to just-published accounts in the South China Morning Post [subscriber only] and China Daily, the National Development and Reform Commission has issued a notice prohibiting the formation of cartels – including restaurant cartels – for the purpose of pushing up commodity prices.

Note to NDRC: where do you stand on the formation of cartels to push down the price of commodities such as iron ore and scrap steel? A topic for another occasion, I’m sure. For now, I’ll merely note that the Chinese federal government has instituted cartel buying of iron ore, and is actively working to form scrap steel purchasing cartels. Consistency, in modern China, is often too much to ask.

[Unfortunately, the NDRC notice is not available in English on its website. If anybody has it, I’d really like to see the section that – according to the South China Morning Post – encourages the media to “expose any business activities connected to such price manipulation.” Let’s just say that I was very happy to have done my part.]