Review №28 of Chinese Antitrust News from the Experts of the BRICS Competition Centre
- 6th Overseas Antitrust Compliance Seminar
- MPA and ByteDance Reach Agreement on Copyright Protection
- Combating the Abuse of Administrative Powers to the Detriment of Competition During the 14th Five-Year Plan
- 13 Cases Involving Anticompetitive Agreements and Abuse of Dominant Market Positions
6th Overseas Antitrust Compliance Seminar
SAMR held the 6th Overseas Antitrust Compliance Seminar. The event provided an overview of antitrust legislation in the United States, the EU countries, and Southeast Asia, as well as detailed guidance on key antitrust compliance issues, including merger control filings, risk identification, and responses to overseas investigations. The organizers also conducted an in-depth analysis of antitrust enforcement cases in other jurisdictions across sectors such as high-tech manufacturing, new energy, the internet, and pharmaceuticals. Representatives of participating companies noted that the seminar was closely aligned with the business scenarios encountered in their overseas operations.
Since the launch of the overseas antitrust compliance seminar series in 2025, 12 events have been successfully held on topics including antitrust compliance in overseas automotive, aviation, integrated circuit, internet, high-tech manufacturing, and biomedical markets, among others. Through these initiatives, the authority is enhancing the international competitiveness of Chinese companies and helping them conduct business in other jurisdictions in full compliance with local antitrust laws.
Source: WeChat
MPA and ByteDance Reach Agreement on Copyright Protection
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and ByteDance have reached an agreement to strengthen copyright protection in connection with the use of generative models for video and image generation. The specific terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
This year, ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 model quickly gained popularity for its realistic effects, but also sparked widespread criticism from a number of film companies. The AI model allegedly used copyrighted footage and characters without authorization, as well as the likenesses and voices of well-known actors. Shortly after the MPA called on ByteDance to address the alleged infringements, the two sides entered into discussions.
“Over the past several months, we have engaged in constructive discussions with ByteDance to establish effective safeguards around Seedance and Seedream,” said MPA President Charles Rivkin. “Today’s agreement demonstrates our firm belief that copyright is the cornerstone of the motion picture and television industries.”
Combating the Abuse of Administrative Powers to the Detriment of Competition During the 14th Five-Year Plan
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), China reviewed 290 cases involving the abuse of administrative powers to the detriment of competition. SAMR has continued to strengthen enforcement in this area, with particular focus on sectors such as urban administration, healthcare, tendering and procurement, engineering and construction, and transportation. Through preventive intervention, China’s system of antitrust regulation and fair-competition protection has become increasingly robust.
The 15th Five-Year Plan continues this regulatory approach and sets out the following objectives: resolutely eliminate obstacles to the establishment of a unified national market, eradicate local protectionism, prevent market fragmentation, and maintain a fair and competitive market order.
Source: WeChat
13 Cases Involving Anticompetitive Agreements and Abuse of Dominant Market Positions
As of July, SAMR had concluded 13 cases involving monopoly agreements and abuse of a dominant market position.
During the first half of the year, the market regulator conducted investigations in the areas of public utilities, the internet, API manufacturing, and driving instruction services. It also strengthened regular oversight of the platform economy, launched enforcement campaigns targeting subsidy policies of e-commerce platforms and competition among food-delivery services, and regularly introduced and updated measures to combat “involutionary” competition.
Source: SAMR
