On 7 February 2021, the Antimonopoly Committee of the State Council issued the Antimonopoly Guidelines on Platform Economic Sector (Platform Antimonopoly Guidelines), which is China’s first specific antitrust rules on platforms. The Platform Antimonopoly Guidelines signal a strengthening of antitrust enforcement against monopolistic behaviours in China’s internet platform sector. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued the Platform Antimonopoly Guidelines, based on a draft of the Antimonopoly Guidelines on Platform Economic Sector (Draft Platform Antimonopoly Guidelines) with minor changes, for comments on 10 November 2020.
The Platform Antimonopoly Guidelines expressly refer to the Antimonopoly Law (AML) which itself is under revision. The Platform Antimonopoly Guidelines consist of six chapters with 24 articles. It takes into account the characteristics of the platform economy and provides guidance on monopolistic behaviours in the platform s