Review №19 of Chinese Antitrust News from the Experts of the BRICS Competition Centre
- Antitrust Regulation Report
- Regulatory Interview with Retail Chain Meiyijia
- Regulator Meets with Railway Ticket Resale Platforms
- Couriers Become Quality Inspectors
- Advanced Training for Antitrust Experts
- Overseas Antitrust Regulation Series, Episode 9: Australia
2025 Antitrust Regulation Report
SAMR has released its 2025 Antitrust Regulation Report, summarizing the agency's work over the past year. The report reviews achievements in enforcement and regulatory oversight, legal framework development, implementation of the fair competition review system, competition advocacy, and international cooperation.
During the year, SAMR opened 20 antitrust cases, with total fines and confiscations amounting to approximately US$96 million. It also reviewed 706 merger filings, representing a 9.8% year-on-year increase. In addition, market regulation authorities at all levels examined around 60,000 regulations and normative documents for provisions that could restrict competition, resulting in 12,300 documents being amended.
In 2025, China held bilateral exchanges with the competition authorities of Italy, Russia, Australia, Singapore, and South Africa. It also participated in the 9th BRICS International Competition Conference and hosted the 11th China International Fair Competition Policy Forum.
As part of the Belt and Road Initiative, SAMR organized an antitrust training program for participating countries, introducing competition officials from 13 countries across Asia, Europe, and Africa to China's regulatory practices.
Regulatory Interview with Retail Chain Meiyijia
SAMR conducted a regulatory interview with the head of Chinese retail giant Meiyijia regarding food safety compliance. The meeting followed the regulator's discovery of expired food products being sold at several stores in the chain, an issue that received extensive media coverage. SAMR instructed the company to strictly comply with China's Food Safety Law as well as recently introduced food safety requirements applicable to chain retailers.
Food safety remains one of SAMR's top priorities, including in its regulation of online food delivery platforms. Earlier, the regulator imposed fines on seven major food delivery platforms for violations of food safety requirements. The total penalty of approximately US$570 million was the largest ever imposed on digital platforms since the revision of China's Food Safety Law in 2015.
Source: SAMR
Regulator Meets with Railway Ticket Resale Platforms
On 11 June, SAMR, together with the Cyberspace Administration of China and the National Railway Administration, held a regulatory meeting with representatives of seven railway ticket intermediary platforms, including Ctrip, Tongcheng, Qunar, Fliggy, and Meituan.
The discussions focused on misleading advertising of paid services, encouraging users to manipulate travel itineraries, and the improper collection and use of personal data. The authorities urged the platforms to strictly comply with China's Anti-Unfair Competition Law, Consumer Rights Protection Law, E-commerce Law, and Personal Information Protection Law, while comprehensively strengthening oversight of ticket sales practices to maintain orderly market conditions.
Earlier this year, ahead of the Lunar New Year travel season, SAMR held a similar meeting, requiring platforms to remove misleading advertisements and any false claims suggesting affiliation with 12306, China's official railway ticketing service.
Source: SAMR
Couriers Become Quality Inspectors
SAMR has launched a nationwide initiative to strengthen food safety oversight on online food delivery platforms by recruiting top-performing delivery riders as quality inspectors.
The initiative aims to:
- establish a nationwide community of courier volunteers and encourage broader participation in food safety supervision;
- develop admission and removal mechanisms for quality inspection teams;
- promote digital supervision tools and establish an information-sharing platform;
- incentivize participation through a combination of financial rewards, non-monetary recognition, and legal protections;
- develop a governance model based on vertical cooperation between government authorities and merchants.
"In well-managed restaurants, food ingredients are stored in plain sight, tableware is properly sanitized, kitchens are bright and spacious, and fire safety equipment meets regulatory standards. Less responsible establishments often fail to comply with licensing requirements, while hygiene conditions require significant improvement," explained Zhao Mingyang, one of the courier quality inspectors.
Couriers report identified violations through a dedicated digital platform, where reports are categorized by subject, including food safety, emergency incidents, and fire safety.
Advanced Training for Antitrust Experts
The SAMR Administrative Academy organized a six-day training program for officials from antitrust divisions of market regulation authorities across China. The course was attended by 74 key enforcement personnel.
The program focused on strengthening participants' professional expertise and practical skills, covering complex and emerging issues in antitrust compliance and enforcement. The curriculum included lectures, case studies, group discussions, and experience-sharing sessions. Speakers included senior officials from SAMR's First Antimonopoly Department, judicial experts, and university professors.
Source: WeChat
Overseas Antitrust Regulation Series, Episode 9: Australia
SAMR has launched an infographic series introducing the antitrust laws and competition enforcement systems of foreign jurisdictions. The ninth installment focuses on Australia, outlining the country's key competition laws, merger notification thresholds, and major categories of anticompetitive conduct.
Previous installments have covered the competition regimes of the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Italy, and Germany.
Source: WeChat
