China: National People’s Congress adopted amendments to Anti-Unfair Competition Law including unilateral conduct regulation

On 27 June 2025, the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth National People’s Congress adopted the second revision to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China at its Sixteenth Session, with the revised provisions entering into force on 15 October 2025. The revised law introduces regulatory provisions targeting unfair competition in the context of digital business operations. It prohibits, under Article 13, the use of data, algorithms, technology, and platform rules to influence user choices or to hinder or disrupt the normal operation of network products or services lawfully provided by other operators. Article 29 provides that violations of these provisions shall result in an order to cease the illegal conduct and may lead to administrative fines ranging from CNY 100'000 to CNY 1 million, and where the circumstances are serious, from CNY 1 million to CNY 5 million. The law further prohibits, under Article 14, platform operators from forcing or coercively forcing operators on the platform to sell goods below cost through pricing rules. Article 30 introduces corresponding penalties ranging from CNY 50'000 to CNY 500'000, and where the circumstances are serious, from CNY 500'000 to CNY 2 million. Article 21 requires platform operators to establish fair competition rules in platform service agreements and transaction rules, create mechanisms for reporting and complaint handling, preserve records, take necessary disposal measures, and report unfair competition to the supervisory and inspection department of the people’s government at or above the county level. The revised law also introduces obligations under Article 33 to record administrative punishments in operators’ credit records and disclose them pursuant to law, and under Article 34, establishes the prioritisation of civil liability where the operator’s assets are insufficient to satisfy civil, administrative, and criminal liabilities.