In its first public statement about the Qualcomm investigation, the watchdog said it began making enquiries after receiving complaints that the company was charging higher prices in China than it does in other countries. Qualcomm announced in November 2013 it was under investigation in China, but did not provide further details.
Xu Kunlin, who heads the NDRC's anti-monopoly and price supervision bureau, told a press conference in Beijing that the regulator "received reports from relevant associations and companies that Qualcomm abuses its dominant position in the market and charges discriminatory fees". Earlier this month, the China Mobile Communications Industry Association said it had filed a complaint against Qualcomm for overcharging for use of its patents.
Under the anti-monopoly law, the NDRC can impose fines of between 1 and 10 percent of a company's revenues for the previous year. Qualcomm earned USD 12.3 billion in China for its fiscal year ended September, or nearly half of its global sales.
The NDRC confirmed it conducted raids at Qualcomm's Beijing headquarters and at its Shanghai offices in November. Officials subsequently met William Bold, Qualcomm's senior vice president for government affairs, and Fabian Gonell, vice president and counsel for Qualcomm's technology licensing, in December, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Qualcomm said the company was cooperating with the investigation.
On InterDigital, senior NDRC official Lu Yanchun said the company had to "make promises on what steps it will take in light of problems we've raised" about its licensing content. InterDigital had been "very cooperative" and had "taken some positive steps," Lu said. InterDigital also apologized for "misunderstanding Chinese laws" in a December statement, in which the company said its executives feared arrest if they were to travel to Beijing.
