Market regulator asks internet giants to avoid aggressive promotions, cutthroat competition

China's market regulator has summoned major internet platform companies, including Alibaba, ByteDance's Douyin, Baidu, Tencent, JD, Meituan, and Taobao Flash Sale, urging them to curb aggressive promotional practices and avoid what authorities called cutthroat competition.

In a statement released on Saturday, the State Administration for Market Regulation said it held talks on Friday with the seven companies, requiring them to strictly comply with China's anti-unfair competition law, price law, consumer rights protection law, and e-commerce law.

The regulator told the firms to strengthen internal compliance, take primary responsibility for their business conduct and further standardize promotional campaigns.

It warned platforms to eliminate various forms of cutthroat competition – a term widely used in China to describe excessive, cutthroat rivalry that erodes margins without generating meaningful innovation – and to jointly safeguard a fair and orderly market environment.