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Standalone Hold Separate Orders as Remedies in Chinese Merger Control

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In a few of its conditional merger clearances, China’s competition authority has required standalone hold separate orders, a special remedy that allows a merger to be cleared if the assets of the merging parties remain separated for a certain period. Such a remedy is substantially different from supporting hold separate orders, which are used in cases where structural remedies are adopted. This chapter aims to better understand the nature of these standalone hold separate orders. It does so by analyzing the similarities and differences between standalone and supporting hold separate orders. Such analysis is helpful in clarifying the precise scope of standalone hold separate orders, which helps to avoid confusion between and misunderstanding of these two kinds of remedies. This chapter argues that standalone and supporting hold separate orders are substantially different and that standalone hold separate orders should be treated as a new type of behavioral remedy.