Ｃｏｃａ－Ｃｏｌａ’ｓ Ａｃｑｕｉｓｉｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒ Ｈｕｉｙｕａｎ Ｊｕｉｃｅ

China's Anti-Monopoly Law， the foundation stone of the market economy， started to be implemented since August 1st 2008. After half a year of investigation， Coca Cola's acquisition of Huiyuan Juice was put to a stop by Ministry of Commerce on March 18th 2009. It became the first abortive case since the implementation of the Anti-Monopoly Law and caused strong repercussions home and abroad. While the nationalists applauded for the decision， overseas media generally took a skeptical attitude， considering it as a case of trade protectionism. This phenomenon requires a rational interpretation and guidance for the domestic and international media. On the one hand， acquisition by foreign capital may bring advanced technology and management experience and promote economic development; on the other hand， it may lead to the monopoly of relevant market， hamper competition and cause some domestic brands to disappear. We should look at Coca Cola's acquisition of Huiyuan Juice from two aspects. There are both advantages and disadvantages in acquisition. Anti-monopoly law enforcement agency should not only pay attention to the damage to competition brought about by acquisition， but also to its positive role in promoting economic development. It should balance the pros and cons so that it can reach a rational conclusion and maintain the authority of law. Chinese society is better to take a balanced attitude to acquisition by foreign capital， and prevent nationalism to go spread unchecked. At the meantime， the international media should not overreact to this case， which could become the excuse for other countries to practice trade protectionism. The Chinese government simply made a misleading yet not wrong decision at a wrong place in a wrong time.