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China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) launched a special campaign from May through December to remove regulatory and administrative barriers that impede a unified market and fair competition. The action targets four problem areas: unfair market access and restraints on firms' autonomy, restrictions on the free flow of goods, discriminatory qualification recognition, and hidden bidding barriers via improper credit evaluations. SAMR said it will intensify enforcement, reviews a
SAMR's campaign and conditional merger rulings signal stricter enforcement of market access and competition rules, affecting deal approvals, platform strategies, and compliance priorities for tech firms. Tech professionals must reassess regulatory risk, merger conditions, and market-entry plans in China.
Dossier last updated: 2026-05-22 10:00:51
China's State Administration for Market Regulation approved Tencent Holdings' acquisition of a stake in Ximalaya with conditions, and Tencent (including Tencent Music Entertainment) has committed not to enter into or effectuate exclusive copyright licensing agreements with the copyright holders defined in the imposed commitments. The company must also unwind existing exclusive licenses in specified forms within the deadline set by the remedy plan. This concession is designed to address antitrust concerns by preventing market foreclosure in digital audio and music content, preserving competition among platforms and rights holders.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) launched a special campaign from May through December to remove obstacles hampering a unified national market and fair competition. The action targets four types of barriers: unfair entry and business restrictions, limits on free flow of goods factors, discriminatory qualification recognition, and improper credit evaluations or hidden tendering barriers. SAMR said it will increase inspections, enforcement, and reviews, pursue major cases, repeal or amend obstructive local rules, publish典型cases, and accelerate institutional fixes to make competition, standards, and enforcement more transparent and predictable. The campaign aims to standardize local government economic behavior and strengthen market foundations. (Source: SAMR via CCTV/36Kr)
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) launched a special campaign from May through December to remove regulatory and administrative barriers that impede a unified market and fair competition. The action targets four problem areas: unfair market access and restraints on firms' autonomy, restrictions on the free flow of goods, discriminatory qualification recognition, and hidden bidding barriers via improper credit evaluations. SAMR said it will intensify enforcement, reviews and spot checks and strictly address improper interventions in market competition. The move signals tougher oversight of market distortions affecting platforms, supply chains and innovation, and could impact regulatory compliance and competition dynamics for tech and platform companies operating in China.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) granted conditional approval for Tencent’s acquisition of audio platform Ximalaya, imposing five restrictive commitments to protect competition. SAMR found the deal could harm competition in online audio and music streaming markets and required Tencent, Ximalaya and the merged entity to promise not to raise prices, cut service quality, or add unreasonable trading terms; preserve free content ratios; avoid exclusive licensing and unwind existing exclusives within a set period; not tie audio services to automakers or block rival products; and not restrict creators from distributing on multiple platforms. The conditions aim to protect consumers, rights holders, hosts and automakers while allowing the $1.26bn-plus-equity transaction to proceed.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation conditionally approved Tencent Holdings' acquisition of a stake in audio platform Ximalaya, finding potential competition concerns in online audio and music streaming. To mitigate anticompetitive risks, the regulator imposed five restrictive commitments: no price increases or service degradation; maintain proportions of free and popular free content; no exclusive licensing with content rights holders and unwind existing exclusive deals within a set period; no tying of audio services to automakers or blocking rivals' products; and do not restrict hosts from distributing works across multiple platforms. The remedies aim to preserve market access for competitors, protect creators and consumers, and limit Tencent's post-merger market power.