China to Intensify Crackdown on Malicious Price Competition
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China to Intensify Crackdown on Malicious Price Competition
- China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on Sunday, September 20, 2026, that it will enhance enforcement against malicious price competition, including cost investigations and price inspections.
- This initiative aims to redirect market competition from aggressive price-cutting towards improvements in product quality and efficiency, according to Shu Wei, deputy head of the SAMR.
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China is stepping up its efforts to combat “malicious price competition” through increased scrutiny, including cost investigations and price inspections. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) made this announcement at a State Council Information Office briefing on Sunday, September 20, 2026. This move is part of a broader strategy to shift market dynamics away from intense price wars and towards fostering competition based on product quality and efficiency.
The SAMR plans to accelerate revisions to the Price Law and develop new rules specifically designed to curb “low-price dumping.” This follows a notice issued on September 10, 2026, by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and SAMR, which clarified cost accounting rules for key industrial products to address disorderly low-price competition. The updated guidelines aim to provide detailed provisions on how cost accounting should be conducted, which was previously lacking in existing laws.
The revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law, effective October 15, 2025, already includes provisions prohibiting platform operators from forcing merchants to sell below cost. In February 2026, SAMR also released the Automotive Industry Price Conduct Compliance Guidelines to regulate pricing strategies in that sector. These actions are part of China’s ongoing efforts to create a fairer market environment and prevent practices that disrupt normal production and business order. The ultimate goal, as stated by Shu Wei, is to establish a unified, standardized, and efficient system for market entry and exit by 2030, while strengthening enforcement against monopolistic and unfair competition practices.