Maritime Policy and Regulation -- General and Sector-Specific Competition Rules in Force -- Scope of Application of Sector-Specific Regulation of Liner Conferences -- Exemption and Prohibition Provisions Concerning Liner Conferences -- Regulatory Procedure -- Future Perspectives after the Change of the Regulation Regime -- Conclusion.

A liner conference, as a self-regulation organisational form of liner shipping companies, constitutes a typical "hard-core cartel" with significant anti-competitive effect. One of the main three trade routes of liner shipping traffic is the Europe-Asia Trade, on the two ends of which both the European Community (EC) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) play important roles in the international liner shipping market. However, the competition regimes on liner conferences in both jurisdictions are not equivalent. From a comparative point of view, this book reviews the historical development of maritime policy and regulatory legislation in the EC and the PRC, catches insight into the system of regulation regime and individual provisions in substantive and procedural meaning, and finally provides a wide-ranging perspective on the future competition regulation in respect of the latest developments in both jurisdictions.