China steps up antitrust enforcement across livelihood markets in 3-year campaign
By MLex Staff ( December 18, 2025, 07:37 GMT | Insight) -- China’s market regulator has intensified enforcement against antitrust violations in sectors closely tied to people’s livelihoods, completing 35 monopoly-agreement cases and 25 cases of abuse of dominant market position in the sector during the past three years and imposing 2.93 billion yuan ($416 million) in penalties and confiscation of illegal gains. According to the State Administration for Market Regulation, the campaign has focused on pharmaceuticals, public utilities and platform economy markets, while also expanding administrative-monopoly oversight and refining regulatory rules.China’s market regulator has intensified enforcement against antitrust violations in sectors closely tied to people’s livelihoods, completing 35 monopoly-agreement cases and 25 cases of abuse of dominant market position in this sector during the past three years and imposing 2.93 billion yuan ($416 million) in penalties and confiscation of illegal gains. According to the State Administration for Market Regulation, or SAMR, the campaign has focused on pharmaceuticals, public utilities and platform economy markets, while also expanding administrative-monopoly oversight and refining regulatory rules.Releasing data at a press conference on Wednesday, SAMR said it concluded 950 merger reviews in livelihood-related sectors during the period, alongside 148 cases involving abuses of administrative power that restricted market access or distorted competition.Pharmaceutical enforcement remained the key focus of the campaign, with SAMR describing the sector as a priority because anticompetitive practices directly affect essential treatments. Liu Jian, deputy head of the agency's first antitrust enforcement department, said enforcement teams maintained a “high-pressure” approach and moved quickly on suspected collusion or dominance abuses. In three years, the regulator concluded 12 pharmaceutical cases, imposing more than 2.4 billion yuan in penalties and disgorged revenue.The 12 cases all received heavy sanctions, with penalties averaging five percent of the companies’ previous-year revenue and an average of more than 200 million yuan in fines and disgorged revenue per case. In some cases, SAMR applied the statutory maximum of 10 percent and also fined organizers and responsible individuals, extending liability beyond corporate entities to strengthen deterrence (see here) . The enforcement delivered measurable price effects. Prices for drugs involved in the investigations fell by more than 40 percent in most cases, with some medicines dropping by as much as 95 percent. Alongside penalties, SAMR has accelerated rulemaking and compliance support. The regulator issued a dedicated antitrust guideline for the pharmaceutical sector this year, clarifying standards for assessing joint price increases, exclusionary conduct and trading restrictions. Public utilities was also an enforcement focus. SAMR said structural monopolies in water, gas and heating services made the sector susceptible to collusion and dominance abuses. Sixteen antitrust cases in the sector resulted in 183 million yuan in combined fines and disgorged revenue during the past three years.The regulator is also responding to emerging risks in digital markets. It has publicly summoned platform operators — such as those in the food-delivery and logistics industries — whose conduct harms the interests of small and medium-sized merchants and consumers (see here). In addition, draft antitrust compliance guidelines for internet platforms, which address algorithmic collusion, below-cost sales and exclusivity requirements such as “choosing one of two” practices, completed their public comment period in late November (see here).SAMR also highlighted progress against administrative monopolies, concluding 148 cases involving restrictions on cross-regional market access or preferential treatment for local companies in procurement and bidding. The next phase will focus on embedding the fair competition review system more deeply into policymaking and tightening enforcement against local protectionism.Complementing formal penalties, the regulator has expanded non-punitive tools as part of its shift toward “tiered and full-chain supervision.” These include competition-assessment reports in 20 industries, including semiconductors and online payments; soft regulatory measures such as advance-warning notices to non-compliant enterprises; and a growing program of antitrust compliance lectures for state-owned, private and foreign companies.— Analysis by Emily Liu....
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