China's Top Market Regulator Launches Anti-Monopoly Investigation Against Alibab...

China's Top Market Regulator Launches Anti-Monopoly Investigation Against Alibaba- PingWest

China's Top Market Regulator Launches Anti-Monopoly Investigation Against Alibaba

December 24, 2020 9:58 am

Beijing (PingWest)—China's top market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation, is conducting an anti-monopoly probe into Alibaba, state-owned media Xinhua News Agency reported.

The main accusation facing China's largest e-commerce platform is that it forces merchants to choose one of two platforms, rather than being able to work with both, said the report.

The People's Daily, a media affiliated to the Communist Party of China, commented that strengthening anti-monopoly supervision in the Internet field is an important move taken by Chinese authorities, which is conducive to standardizing industry order and promoting the long-term and healthy development of the platform economy.

Given that more and more resources are obtained by internet giants, opportunities for SMEs are becoming fewer, complaints about monopolistic behavior of large platforms are increasing. "There are certain risks and hidden dangers behind the development of the digital economy, the People's Daily pointed out, although it acknowledges that in recent years, China's booming digital economy has played an important role in promoting high-quality economic development and meeting people's increasing needs for a better life. 

"Fair competition is the core of the market economy...but monopoly hinders fair competition and stifles innovation, so regulators have always attached great importance to these issues," the newspaper said. "Strengthening anti-monopoly supervision and safeguarding equitable competition can promote innovation and achieve healthy development."

Anti-monopoly has become China's top priority, said the newspaper. Last week, at the Central Economic Work Conference convened by President Xi Jinping, China's top policymakers listed anti-monopoly supervision as one of the critical tasks for next year, vowing to prevent disorderly capital expansion.

New York-traded shares of Alibaba fell more than 3% in after-hours trading.

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