China Monthly Antitrust Update: June 2025

[co-author: Ken Dai]

Developments Highlights

Legislation

SAMR Seeks Comments on Draft Guidelines for Online Transaction Platform Fees

On June 4, 2025, To regulate the fees that online platforms charge operators—including commissions, membership fees, technical service fees, information service fees, and marketing fees—and to protect the legitimate rights of operators while promoting a healthy and orderly development of the platform economy, the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) has drafted the Compliance Guidelines for Fee Practices on Online Trading Platforms (Draft for Public Comment). The draft is now open for public consultation.¹

SAMR Seeks Comments on Provisions for Curbing Acts of Abusing Administrative Power to Eliminate or Restrict Competition (Amendment Draft for Comments)

On May 16, SAMR released a draft revision of the Provisions for Curbing Acts of Abusing Administrative Power to Eliminate or Restrict Competition for public comment. The revision aims to strengthen antitrust enforcement against administrative abuses that hinder market competition, promote timely and effective solutions to unlawful market interventions, and uphold a fair and competitive market environment.²

Authorities

On May 28, 2025, SAMR held an antitrust compliance workshop in Beijing to provide guidance on the antitrust legal framework for business operators in the water supply industry. SAMR emphasized that water supply enterprises should place a high priority on building robust antitrust compliance programs, proactively identifying potential antitrust risks, and preventing the extension of monopoly advantages to upstream and downstream competitive segments.³

SAMR Holds Antitrust Compliance Guidance Meeting for Public Utilities Sector

On May 23, SAMR convened an antitrust compliance guidance meeting for operators in the public utilities sector. The meeting highlighted an increase in monopoly-related cases, noting that some companies have leveraged their dominant positions to extend control over upstream and downstream markets—harming competitors and consumers alike. SAMR called on companies to strengthen their compliance efforts, uphold lawful and fair business practices, and help foster a competitive market environment.⁴

State Council’s Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Committee Expert Advisory Panel Holds 2025 Plenary Meeting

On May 21 the Expert Advisory Panel of the State Council Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Committee convened its annual plenary meeting in Beijing. The meeting highlighted the importance of supporting national efforts to build a unified domestic market, addressing issues of excessive and unhealthy competition, and enhancing antitrust enforcement. Experts were called upon to provide strategic advice and insights to strengthen fair competition governance and maintain a level playing field across markets.⁵

Public Enforcement

On May 23, 2025, the Jiangsu Provincial Administration for Market Regulation (“AMR”) announced fines totaling around RMB 4.39 million against Sichuan Xieli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Xieli”) and six individuals for obstructing an antitrust investigation. Xieli was accused of monopolizing a domestically produced pharmaceutical raw material, worsening supply chain shortages for certain essential drugs. This is the first published penalty case under the new Anti-Monopoly Law for obstructing an investigation, with Xieli receiving the highest fine to date.⁶

Tianjin AMR Issues Antitrust Penalty Decision on Horizontal Monopoly Agreement in Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate API Market

On May 9, the Tianjin AMR announced administrative penalties against four manufacturers of dexamethasone sodium phosphate active pharmaceutical ingredients for engaging in a horizontal monopoly agreement. The total fines and confiscated gains imposed on three of the companies amount to RMB 354 million. Notably, the individual who organized the monopoly agreement was fined RMB 5 million, marking the highest personal liability imposed to date. Investigations revealed that since 2021, the companies, under the coordination of the individual, repeatedly engaged in price-fixing, collusive price increases, and supply disruptions to distort market order. These practices significantly raised raw material prices over two years, leading to higher downstream product prices and harming patients’ interests.⁷

Courts Litigation

On May 19, 2025, the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) and the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) jointly released six illustrative cases showcasing criminal enforcement of collusive bidding. The initiative aims to strengthen efforts to combat bid-rigging and maintain order in the tendering market. In recent years, collusive bidding cases have shown increasing diversity in participants, covert methods, and organized crime chains, severely undermining fair competition and harming the rights of market players. The released cases span sectors such as construction and materials procurement, involving collusion among bidders, tenderers, and intermediaries, emphasize comprehensive enforcement across the entire collusion chain and provide clear legal standards and consistent judicial guidance to strengthen antitrust enforcement and maintain market order.⁸

SPC IP Court Clarifies Presumption and Calculation of Damages Arising from Horizontal Monopoly Agreements

Recently, the Intellectual Property Court of the SPC issued a final judgment in a case involving a horizontal monopoly agreement. It held that during the implementation period of such an agreement (and a reasonable period afterward), a business that signs and performs a contract with the party to the agreement may be presumed that the operator suffered damages due to the agreement’s implementation. The court further clarified that if the defendant argues that price increases were caused by non-monopoly factors, the defendant bears the burden of proof.⁹

1. ^{https://www.samr.gov.cn/hd/zjdc/art/2025/art_ed7d047de7cd423e981890d4ece9e974.html}

2. ^{https://www.samr.gov.cn/hd/zjdc/art/2025/art_5accd4433d6545039ef995cbcb79a632.html}

3. ^{https://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/art/2025/art_7ee26807bf3d47929011300e9c2b62e6.html}

4. ^{https://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/art/2025/art_84bd1d93fb854304adc609bad8589cd5.html?sessionid=}

5. ^{https://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/art/2025/art_5da5c478d39949b6a455217d9905f52d.html}

6. ^{https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/xzcfjd/art/2025/art_63b9fd12be8d4878a4edd236fe5c364e.html}

7. ^{https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/xzcfjd/art/2025/art_01f9df9e5fa84fca8a003babf7c990a8.html}

8. ^{https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/465361.html}

9. ^{https://ipc.court.gov.cn/zh-cn/news/view-4257.html}