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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz and Justice Department Acting Assistant Attorney General Joseph Wayland participated in high-level meetings with officials from China’s three antitrust agencies – Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Vice Minister Gao Hucheng, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Vice Chairman Hu Zucai and State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) Vice Minister Teng Jiacai.  The meetings were co-hosted by the two U.S. agencies and took place in Washington, D.C. over two days.  Justice Department Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole met with NDRC Vice Chairman Hu yesterday.

These were the first joint, high-level meetings of the agencies since the FTC and Justice Department signed the antitrust MOU with the Chinese antitrust agencies on July 27, 2011.  The officials discussed promoting competition in a global economy and various aspects of general civil and criminal antitrust enforcement.

The MOU is designed to promote communication and cooperation among the agencies in the two countries.  The MOU provides for periodic high-level consultations among all five agencies.

The FTC’s Bureau of Competition works with the Bureau of Economics to investigate alleged anticompetitive business practices and, when appropriate, recommends that the Commission take law enforcement action.  To inform the Bureau about particular business practices, call 202-326-3300, send an e-mail to antitrust{at}ftc{dot}gov, or write to the Office of Policy and Coordination, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, 601 New Jersey Ave., Room 7117, Washington, DC 20580.  To learn more about the Bureau of Competition, read Competition Counts.  Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.