The enforcement action underscores Beijing's commitment to strengthening regular antitrust oversight in the platform economy.
China's market regulator has imposed administrative penalties totaling 5.18 billion yuan ($765 million) on Trip.com Group for abusing its dominant market position, marking the country's first antitrust enforcement action involving the online travel industry.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said Trip.com, the operator of the Ctrip travel platform, violated China's Anti-Monopoly Law by using its dominant position in the online hotel booking platform services market to restrict competition.
The company was ordered to forfeit 1.658 billion yuan in illegal gains and pay a 3.521 billion yuan fine. The regulator also instructed Trip.com to refund 122 million yuan in hotel order reserve funds that had been forcibly deducted from hotel operators, undertake comprehensive rectification measures and publicly disclose its corrective actions.
According to SAMR, the investigation was launched in January 2026 following multiple complaints filed in 2025 alleging that Trip.com had forced hotels to accept unfair contractual terms and used technological means to influence hotel pricing.
The regulator found that the company had required certain hotels to enter into exclusive cooperation agreements and offer the "lowest price across the internet" by leveraging its traffic allocation mechanism, platform rules and technical tools.
SAMR said the practices restricted fair competition, limited hotels' ability to operate across multiple platforms, infringed upon their pricing autonomy, harmed consumer interests and impeded the healthy development of the industry.
Trip.com said it would use the punishment as an opportunity to conduct thorough self-reflection and pursue meaningful reform, adding that it would resolutely abandon inefficient "involution-style" competition. The company later unveiled 19 rectification measures.
Industry data cited by Chinese authorities showed that platform commissions charged to homestay operators in Yunnan province had risen from 8–10% several years ago to 12–18% currently, leaving many operators facing a choice between losing customers or operating at a loss.
Industry experts said the case illustrates the evolving nature of monopoly conduct in the digital economy, where dominant platforms increasingly rely on data, algorithms, traffic allocation mechanisms and platform rules rather than traditional forms of market exclusion to reinforce market power.
Ning Lizhi, a professor at Wuhan University's School of Law, said the ruling sends a clear message that no platform enterprise is exempt from regular antitrust supervision regardless of its size or market position, and that the use of algorithms or digital technologies does not shield companies from legal liability if they are used to distort competition.
The enforcement action is consistent with China's broader regulatory framework for the platform economy. The country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) calls for strengthened oversight of platform companies' use of data, algorithms, traffic and platform rules to promote the innovative and healthy development of the sector.
Chinese industry experts said the latest antitrust action is intended to reinforce clear competitive boundaries and foster a healthier business environment in which digital platforms compete through innovation rather than market exclusion.
Source: Xinhua
