After several months of reading reports that China was on the verge of wrapping up its antitrust probe of US telecoms chip giant Qualcomm (QCOM), I'm happy to report that a landmark settlement of the deal has finally come. Headline writers will inevitably focus on the eye-catching figure of nearly $1 billion, which is the record amount that Qualcomm has agreed to pay to settle a probe that has lasted more than a year. But I'm most impressed by the unprecedented atmosphere of conciliation that came with this particular negotiation, which marks a huge change for Beijing regulators who are used to making decisions unilaterally with limited or no input from affected companies. Read more