China investigating price fixing in trade with Japan

China investigating price fixing in trade with Japan    China’s Ministry of Communications is investigating price fixing designed to keep rates in the China/Japan container trade artificially low, according to a report by Bloomberg.
   Japan is China’s third-biggest trading partner in the first seven months of the year, Bloomberg said.
   From Oct. 15, all mainland shipping lines operating between the two Far East powers have had to report their rates to the ministry with any carriers offering zero freight rates or cash rebates facing the loss of licenses or reduced frequencies.
   “There has been irregular price competition between container carriers on China/Japan routes for a while,” said a statement on the ministry’s Web site.
   The country’s two largest carriers, COSCO Container Lines and China Shipping Container Lines, are still majority-owned by the Chinese government after recent initial public offerings.