Foreign firms operating in China were put under pressure after a senior Chinese official had sought confessions for antitrust violations. The 30 foreign firms included General Electric and Siemens. The Chinese regulator warned these firms about hiring external lawyers to fight accusations from regulators. This was according to sources who asked not to be identified as the matter was private in nature.
Many antitrust lawyers in China said that the meeting was an evidence of the aggressive tactics to enforce a 2008 anti-monopoly law. The said meeting highlighted a worsening relationship between foreign companies operating in the country and Chinese regulators.
The closed door meeting was held last July 24 and 25. According to two sources who were present during the gathering, the senior official showed in-house lawyers how to draft a "self-criticism" letter. The latter would indicate confessions of antitrust violations committed by international firms. The official also showed copies of letters from firms that admitted guilt in past antitrust cases.
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