Review №32 of Chinese Antitrust News from the Experts of the BRICS Competition Centre
- China and the US Resume Dialogue on AI
- Promoting M&A to Tackle Involutionary Competition: The Tongwei–Qinghai Lihao Clean Energy Deal
- Regulator Urges Food Delivery Platforms to Take Responsibility for Food Safety
China and the US Resume Dialogue on AI
Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States on September 23–25, the two sides reached an eight-point consensus, one of which focuses on AI.
The two sides agreed to launch a dialogue on artificial intelligence to exchange views on the risks and benefits associated with AI. The next round of talks is scheduled for November 2026. They also agreed to establish a communication channel for responding to AI-related incidents.
Xi Jinping noted that both countries are leading powers in AI and that, despite existing competition, the potential for cooperation in this area is even greater. Donald Trump, in turn, said that AI concerns the future of humanity and that the two countries should therefore maintain dialogue and strengthen cooperation in the field.
The two sides had already agreed in 2023 to establish an intergovernmental dialogue on AI. The first meeting was held in Geneva on May 14, 2024, but no clear schedule was established for regular consultations.
The current mechanism is called the Super Intelligence Dialogue. The White House said that the two countries’ leaders agreed to use the term “superintelligence” (SI), while Chinese documents continue to use the term “artificial intelligence.” China’s Foreign Ministry said that China attaches importance to the US position and respects the terminology used by the United States.
Nevertheless, several days later, on September 29, the US president said he did not intend to cooperate with China on mitigating risks associated with artificial intelligence. In his view, such cooperation could undermine America’s leadership in the rapidly developing field.
Sources: People's Daily, Fudan University, SCMP
Promoting M&A to Tackle Involutionary Competition: The Tongwei–Qinghai Lihao Clean Energy Deal
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) cleared Tongwei’s acquisition of a stake in Qinghai Lihao Clean Energy without imposing any remedies. According to the regulator, the deal could help the photovoltaic industry break out of a cycle of “involutionary” competition.
Both companies are major players in the global solar energy market. Tongwei is a leading producer of monocrystalline silicon solar cells, while Lihao Clean Energy ranks among the world’s top 10 polysilicon producers. The deal is intended to break the cycle of “involution,” improve coordination between different stages of the supply chain, accelerate market consolidation and facilitate the exit of inefficient production capacity.
The photovoltaic industry is currently undergoing a painful transformation. A wave of investment and capacity expansion during the market boom was followed by slowing demand. The crisis has been marked by continued pressure on the prices of key components, low-quality competition among suppliers of similar products and rising output despite stagnant revenues, resulting in persistent losses since early 2024. To address these problems, the relevant authorities have been coordinating efforts to regulate the competitive environment, including by encouraging mergers and restructuring.
Mergers and restructuring are important market tools for addressing imbalances between supply and demand. Consolidating production capacity through M&A allows market forces to play a decisive role in allocating resources while avoiding efficiency losses. The unconditional approval of the deal provides significant support to the photovoltaic industry as it seeks to escape the trap of involution through mergers and restructuring.
The unconditional approval also sends a clear policy signal: lawful, regulation-compliant M&A transactions in industries suffering from severe “involutionary” competition will receive institutional support.
Source: SAMR
Regulator Urges Food Delivery Platforms to Take Responsibility for Food Safety
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) held a meeting on food safety on online platforms, emphasizing platforms’ responsibility for food safety, improving risk controls in the online sector and creating a more orderly and reliable environment for buying food online.
The meeting noted that despite regular inspections and targeted campaigns by SAMR, problems such as the sale of counterfeit or substandard products and misleading advertising persist in online marketplaces. This is partly due to some platforms failing to properly fulfill their obligations, as well as weak oversight and ineffective risk management.
Online food delivery platforms should therefore strengthen their internal control systems and continuously improve management protocols at every stage, from screening merchants to conducting daily inspections. An effective system of shared responsibility for food safety requires strict government regulation, platform self-regulation and public oversight.
Source: SAMR
