Discussion On The Application Of Economic Subsidies To Competitors In China

Economic subsidy is a significance administrative measure which is used to adjust economic performance.It also possesses realistic importance in supporting industrial development,readjusting industrial structure,and promoting social economy.As beneficial administrative act,economic subsidy is a way to redistributing social resources and,therefore,shall be bound by the principle of equality of the Constitution.Equal competitive relationship between subjects of market would be broken once economic interventions from the Government inappropriately intervene in the free market.Accordingly,this paper proposes that we should provide necessary judicial relief through the “competitors' litigation” to competitors who are not subsidized.The essence of the “competitors' litigation” is a third-party interest litigation,and the goal of which is to affect the resource allocation made by the Government by applying courts' decree.This kind of litigation shall not only has three elements as “existence of competitive relation”,“intervention of public power”,and “administrative litigation as guarantee” to distinguish it from “unfair competition litigations,” but seek answers to whether there is litigation claim and can it rely on theoretic explanation of the protective provision.We also need to take these questions into consideration while applying litigations for economic subsidies to competitors in China.Reinterpreting “the right to fair competition” and its stake requires us to follow the new version of “Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China,” relative judicial interpretations,and summary of cases.First,we should explain the “stake” on the case-to-case basis,and also consider the plaintiffs' opinion of the subsidy's influence on competitive condition.Second,“fair competition right” should be regarded as subjective basis of public power,and according to which competitors can directly claim administrative litigation when it is hard to decide the “stake” of non-subsidized competitors.Litigations of economic subsidies to competitors can resist illegal economic interventions from the state,provide judicial relief for competitors in market competition,and ultimately maintain fair competition in the market.