Review № 28 of Chinese Antitrust News from the Experts of the BRICS Competition Centre
- Fair Competition Policy Publicity Week 2025
- Report on Combating Unfair Competition in China in 2024
- Unfair Competition Among Car Companies Online
- Cybersecurity Week 2025
- Personal Data Protection Committees on Platforms
- Xiaohongshu Disrupts the Information Ecosystem
- Crackdown on Excessive Subsidies on Food Delivery Platforms
Fair Competition Policy Publicity Week 2025
From September 8 to 12, China held the Fair Competition Policy Publicity Week. This year, the central theme of the event remained “Unified National Market: Fair Competition for the Future.” As part of the week’s activities, the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Commission of the State Council, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), and local regulatory authorities organized a total of 85 themed events of various scales, focusing on competition protection and promoting high-quality economic development.
The key event of the Week was the 11th International Forum on Fair Competition Policy. The forum featured sessions on strengthening antimonopoly regulation, improving the effectiveness of merger control, ensuring compliance with the updated Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and reinforcing the role of competition policy.
At the first thematic session of the Forum, Alexey Ivanov, Director of the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, delivered a video address. His speech focused on the phenomenon of competition overdose (Chinese: 内卷 neijuan). He also referred to the Global Governance Initiative proposed by China at the SCO Tianjin Summit: “All countries, regardless of size, strength and wealth, are equal participants, decision-makers and beneficiaries in global governancec.” “We can also add that all economic actors — regardless of their size, market power, or assets — should be regarded as equal participants in the global economy, with equal access to the benefits of the global economic order. This is what a pro-competitive yet balanced economic regime could ideally look like,” the Director emphasized
On the sidelines of the Summit, several bilateral meetings also took place. Deputy Head of SAMR Meng Yang met with Roberto Rustichelli, Chairman of the Italian Competition Authority. Meanwhile, SAMR’s Chief Antitrust Inspector, Wang Tiehan, held bilateral talks with Sergey A. Puzyrevsky, State Secretary and Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia.
Sources: SAMR 1, SAMR 2, WeChat, BRICS Centre
Report on Combating Unfair Competition in China in 2024
A bilingual version of the report (in Chinese and English) was presented by SAMR as part of the 11th International Forum on Fair Competition Policy. In 2024, authorities across the country reviewed 14,200 cases of unfair competition, 5,165 of which were related to the digital economy. Approximately $113 million in fines and penalties were imposed.Among the notable legislative achievements were the ongoing work on amendments to the Law on Combating Unfair Competition and the publication of the Interim Provisions on Combating Unfair Competition on Internet.
Source: SAMR
Unfair Competition Among Car Companies Online
Six government agencies, including SAMR, launched a campaign targeting illegal activities by automotive enterprises on the Internet. This includes:
- illegal profit-making practices, such as the creation of fake images and videos, deliberate misinterpretation of fluctuations in car sales volumes, and attacks on corporate management strategies aimed at attracting online traffic;
- exaggerated and false advertising, including knowingly false or misleading claims about vehicle features, functions, quality, and sales volumes;
- malicious attacks and defamation, such as discrediting and targeting automotive enterprises or their products, smearing the reputation of companies or goods, and filing malicious complaints — all with the intent to restrain or suppress competitors.
The agencies have called for enterprises to conduct self-inspections, establish complaint channels, and publish lists of media accounts involved in online violations within the industry. It is also necessary to identify agency teams (PR agencies, marketing companies, etc.) responsible for these violations, as well as the automotive companies that hire their services, and hold them accountable in accordance with the law.
Source: SAMR
Cybersecurity Week 2025
In 2025, Cybersecurity Week will be held in China from September 15 to 21. The theme of the Week is “Cybersecurity for the People and by the People.” During the events, authorities will provide explanations on applicable laws and regulations, including the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, Personal Information Protection Law, as well as the Regulations on the Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure Security, the Regulations on the Management of Network Data Security, the Regulations on the Management of Internet Application Security for Government Agencies, and others. The Week will feature a cybersecurity technology summit, an international product and service showcase, a job fair in cybersecurity and digital technologies, a conference on investment in the digital industry, thematic days, and a campaign to promote cybersecurity skills and knowledge.
Source: WeChat
Personal Data Protection Committees on Platforms
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has published a draft of the Regulations on the Formation of Personal Data Protection and Supervision Committees for large internet platforms for public consultation. The regulations set requirements regarding:
- Committee composition: at least 7 members, with no less than two-thirds being external to the company’s staff, among other criteria;
- Committee members’ qualifications: at least 3 years of experience in personal data protection, etc.;
- Committee functions: overseeing the corporate personal data protection system, assessing related risks, handling personal data incidents, supervising the use of personal data in automated decision-making, and more;
- Committee powers: accessing personal data protection systems, hearing feedback from internet platform users, etc.;
- Procedures for fulfilling duties, applicable responsibilities, and other provisions.
The regulations specify that “large internet platforms” refer to platforms with a large user base offering a wide variety of services.
The public consultation period will remain open until October 12.
Source: WeChat
Xiaohongshu Disrupts the Information Ecosystem
Due to complaints received about the Xiaohongshu platform (Little Red Book — the Chinese equivalent of Instagram), the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has instructed the municipal authority of Shanghai to conduct an educational discussion with the platform and set deadlines for addressing the violations. It has been reported that the platform repeatedly featured content related to artificial hype around celebrities' personal lives in its "Top Search Queries" section. This violates the Regulations on the Governance of the Online Information Content Ecosystem.
A clean and healthy cyberspace aligns with the interests of the people. Cyber management authorities will continue to tackle the most pressing issues undermining the online ecosystem, effectively wielding the "sword" of law enforcement to ensure websites and platforms fulfill their social responsibilities.
Source: WeChat
Crackdown on Excessive Subsidies on Food Delivery Platforms
Recently, ultra-low prices on food delivery platforms have attracted consumer attention. This phenomenon is linked to platforms offering massive subsidies, the burden of which ultimately falls on couriers and other vendors. Back on July 18, the authorities held talks with representatives of the three major food delivery platforms — Ele.me, Meituan, and JD.com — instructing them to maintain reasonable levels of subsidies when promoting goods and services from individual providers. In early September, regulators reiterated their concerns and outlined three key areas of oversight for the platforms:
- Monitoring subsidy levels to prevent the disruption of normal pricing systems;
- Strengthening support for vendors and streamlining platform fees;
- Ensuring protection of couriers’ rights and interests, and strictly enforcing basic food safety standards.
Source: WeChat
