Review №21 of Chinese Antitrust News from the Experts of the BRICS Competition Centre
- Qiushi: Responsibility for Building a Healthy Ecosystem Lies with Platforms Themselves
- NetEase v. Tencent Court Case
- Meituan Discusses Algorithm Optimization to Protect Delivery Riders’ Rights
- Chinese Developers File Antitrust Complaint Against Apple
- 2026–2028 Plan to Promote the Development of Platform Economy Enterprises
- Regulatory Meeting with Automakers Over Irrational Competition
- Second Fair Competition Seminar
Qiushi: Responsibility for Building a Healthy Ecosystem Lies with Platforms Themselves
Qiushi, the Chinese Communist Party's flagship ideological journal, has published an article on the development of the platform economy, arguing that the primary responsibility for building a healthy ecosystem rests with the platforms themselves.
According to the article, the development of the platform economy has long been overshadowed by problems such as big data- and algorithm-driven price discrimination, involutionary competition, the reassignment of orders to anonymous and unverified service providers, resistance to law enforcement authorities, and other misconduct.
The article argues that the root cause of these recurring problems is that some platform companies have lost sight of their original development objectives. The larger a platform becomes, the greater the level of self-discipline it is expected to demonstrate. Platforms connect tens of millions of merchants, gig workers, and consumers, shaping the direction of entire industries. As such, they should bear the primary responsibility for maintaining a healthy industry ecosystem. The more platforms strengthen self-regulation and prioritize the provision of high-quality goods and services, the faster they will earn consumers' trust and recognition, ultimately creating a win-win outcome for all stakeholders. Only in this way can the platform economy ecosystem continuously improve and create a virtuous cycle that enables platform companies to achieve sustainable growth and long-term prosperity.
Source: Qiushi
NetEase v. Tencent Court Case
Litigation between NetEase and Tencent over alleged abuse of market dominance remains ongoing. The dispute stems from a twelve-year conflict between the two companies over digital music copyrights.
Between 2014 and 2015, the companies repeatedly sued one another for music copyright infringement, and WeChat (owned by Tencent) even blocked NetEase Cloud Music's music-sharing feature. Tencent subsequently secured exclusive licensing rights from three major international record labels and acquired China Music Corporation.
In 2021, China's market regulator concluded that the acquisition constituted an unlawful concentration of market power and ordered Tencent to terminate all exclusive music copyright licensing agreements. The dispute, however, did not end there. In 2022, NetEase accused Tencent of engaging in unfair competition, including unauthorized distribution of songs, large-scale copying and plagiarism of musical works, and imitation of innovative products
The current proceedings are expected to focus on whether Tencent established a de facto monopoly through its music content and imposed unfair licensing terms on competing platforms.
Source: WeChat
Meituan Discusses Algorithm Optimization to Protect Delivery Riders’ Rights
At the end of April this year, China issued guidelines regulating working conditions for workers engaged in new forms of employment—the country's first formal policy document aimed at protecting the rights and interests of delivery riders, ride-hailing drivers, and other platform workers.
Two months after the guidelines were released, Meituan reported on the progress of their implementation:
- An Algorithm Advisory Committee composed of external experts and academics has been established to provide diverse perspectives on algorithm optimization.
- The company regularly organizes a "Party Members on the Frontline" initiative, under which senior executives, algorithm management directors, and Party committee members wear delivery uniforms and complete deliveries themselves to experience the realities of last-mile delivery.
- Late-delivery penalties have been abolished and replaced with a cumulative scoring system covering safety, punctuality, and service quality.
- New features allowing riders and customers to share real-time location information, as well as intelligent user prompts, are being tested.
- Measures have been introduced to combat the reassignment of orders to unverified third-party providers ("ghost deliveries»).
- Anti-fatigue protections for riders have been implemented, including pop-up reminders and mandatory log-off mechanisms.
- Delivery times are now automatically extended when riders experience prolonged waits at traffic lights.
- Dedicated online pages explaining algorithmic rules and collecting user feedback on algorithm optimization have been launched.
- A pilot program has been introduced to rate and restrict problematic customers, including a "I will no longer accept orders from this customer" option for riders
Source: WeChat
Chinese Developers File Antitrust Complaint Against Apple
A group of 48 small and medium-sized iOS developers in China has jointly filed an antitrust complaint against Apple, accusing the company of abusing its dominant market position. China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has confirmed receipt of the complaint.
Previously, Apple reduced its commission on in-app purchases in China to the lowest level worldwide. Developers are now demanding that Apple permit third-party in-app payment services, allow external payment links, and enable app distribution through alternative channels outside the official App Store.
According to the complaint, the developers are asking SAMR to establish an automated monitoring mechanism to enforce Apple's commitment to offer its lowest global pricing in China. Specifically, whenever Apple lowers prices or opens additional distribution channels in any overseas market, it should be required to introduce the same—or more favorable — pricing and distribution terms in China on the same day, without transition periods or differentiated treatment.
One of the complainants stated that the group expects regulators to decide within 60 days whether to launch a formal investigation into Apple. If no meaningful progress is made, the developers may pursue civil litigation.
2026–2028 Plan to Promote the Development of Platform Economy Enterprises
Several government agencies, including SAMR, have jointly issued the 2026–2028 Action Plan for Promoting the Coordinated Development of Large, Medium-sized and Small Enterprises in the Platform Economy.
According to the accompanying policy explanation, the Plan aims to foster systematic, innovation-driven, ecosystem-based, and open collaboration among platform enterprises of different sizes, thereby fully unleashing the innovative potential and competitiveness of the platform economy while promoting its deeper integration with the real economy.
By 2028, the Plan envisions the establishment of a number of replicable and scalable collaborative innovation models, the creation of at least ten service platforms, and the implementation of no fewer than sixty intelligent service application scenarios.
Source: Gov.cn
Regulatory Meeting with Automakers Over Irrational Competition
On 11 June 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), together with SAMR, held a regulatory meeting with automobile manufacturers suspected of engaging in irrational competitive practices.
The authorities reminded participants of their obligation to comply strictly with applicable laws and regulations, including the PRC Price Law, the Provisions on Preventing Predatory Pricing, and the Guidelines on Price Compliance in the Automotive Industry
The companies were instructed to strengthen pricing governance, improve product quality, and better protect consumers' lawful rights and interests in order to jointly maintain a market environment characterized by fair pricing and healthy.
Source: MIIT
Second Fair Competition Seminar
SAMR held its second Fair Competition Seminar of 2026 for businesses.
Representatives from seven companies operating in the manufacturing, artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical, and construction sectors exchanged views on removing barriers and bottlenecks to maintaining fair market competition.
During the seminar, SAMR stated that it would address both the "symptoms" and the "root causes" of competition-related problems, while further improving enforcement and supervisory standards and adopting more practical, results-oriented regulatory measures.
Source: SAMR
