Dec 20 – China’s cyberspace authority announced on Saturday that it will implement new regulations regarding pricing on internet platforms, effective April 10.
These rules state that platform owners must not use tactics such as increased fees or search ranking blacklisting to pressure businesses on the platform to lower prices.
Chinese authorities typically take a firm stance against practices they consider detrimental to healthy market development.
Despite this, there are currently no indications that China’s largest e-commerce platforms will cease their ongoing “instant retail” price war. While consumers benefit from lower prices, merchants have expressed concerns on social media that these price wars severely reduce profit margins, and restaurant owners lament a decline in lucrative in-person business.
—
