On 27 June 2025, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) passed significant amendments to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, marking the third revision since its initial enactment in 1993. The amended law will take effect on 15 October 2025. This legislative development underscores China’s continued effort to refine its legal framework for fair market competition, enhance protection for business operators, and align with evolving commercial practices in the digital economy. The amendments aim to address new forms of unfair competition, improve enforcement mechanisms, and strengthen regulatory clarity, thereby promoting a healthier and more transparent business environment.
Key Revisions and Legislative Purpose
The 2025 amendments to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law introduce a number of substantive and procedural updates in response to evolving challenges in market competition. The key revisions and their legislative purposes are as follows:
1. Strengthened Rules Against Specific Unfair Practices
The revised law makes important updates to the substantive scope of unfair competition:
Confusion and Misappropriation - It is now explicitly prohibited to use another party’s well-known social media account names, app names, or icons without authorization, or to embed well-known trade names or company names as search engine keywords in a way that causes confusion. Operators are also prohibited from facilitating such acts for others.
Commercial Bribery - The amendments adopt a dual approach of addressing both the giver and recipient of bribes. In addition to prohibiting bribery in commercial transactions, the law now explicitly forbids individuals and entities from accepting bribes during business dealings.
Online and Platform-based Unfair Competition - Platform operators are required to include fair competition rules in their service agreements and transaction rules and to take timely action against unfair conduct on their platforms. Operators are prohibited from using data, algorithms, technical measures, or platform rules to engage in malicious or manipulative conduct that disrupts market order.
The amendments also refine provisions on false advertising, improper prize promotions, commercial defamation, and abuse of market dominance that harms the rights of SMEs.
2. Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties
To improve regulatory effectiveness, the revised law introduces clearer investigative procedures and expands available enforcement tools. Supervision departments may now conduct interviews with legal representatives or responsible persons of suspected violators to urge timely rectification. Penalties have been increased for serious violations. Notably, individual liability is emphasized - legal representatives, key executives, and directly responsible personnel involved in commercial bribery may be personally sanctioned. The amendments also establish penalties for entities and individuals who accept bribes in commercial activities.
3. Extraterritorial Effect and Cross-border Applicability
For the first time, the revised law explicitly provides for extraterritorial application, allowing authorities to regulate unfair competition acts committed outside China that have a direct impact on the domestic market.
Comment
The amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law reflects China’s increasingly proactive and modern approach to market regulation, underscoring its commitment to addressing new forms of unfair conduct in the digital economy. It enhances legal clarity for market participants and strengthens protection in key areas such as trade secrets, algorithmic practices, and competitive neutrality, fostering a fairer and more orderly competitive environment. At the same time, technology-driven enterprises may face heightened regulatory scrutiny over data usage, platform conduct, and compliance systems. Businesses are therefore advised to reinforce internal risk controls and align operational practices with the new requirements to better navigate the evolving regulatory landscape and sustain competitiveness in the Chinese market.
Key Revisions and Legislative Purpose
The 2025 amendments to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law introduce a number of substantive and procedural updates in response to evolving challenges in market competition. The key revisions and their legislative purposes are as follows:
1. Strengthened Rules Against Specific Unfair Practices
The revised law makes important updates to the substantive scope of unfair competition:
Confusion and Misappropriation - It is now explicitly prohibited to use another party’s well-known social media account names, app names, or icons without authorization, or to embed well-known trade names or company names as search engine keywords in a way that causes confusion. Operators are also prohibited from facilitating such acts for others.
Commercial Bribery - The amendments adopt a dual approach of addressing both the giver and recipient of bribes. In addition to prohibiting bribery in commercial transactions, the law now explicitly forbids individuals and entities from accepting bribes during business dealings.
Online and Platform-based Unfair Competition - Platform operators are required to include fair competition rules in their service agreements and transaction rules and to take timely action against unfair conduct on their platforms. Operators are prohibited from using data, algorithms, technical measures, or platform rules to engage in malicious or manipulative conduct that disrupts market order.
The amendments also refine provisions on false advertising, improper prize promotions, commercial defamation, and abuse of market dominance that harms the rights of SMEs.
2. Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties
To improve regulatory effectiveness, the revised law introduces clearer investigative procedures and expands available enforcement tools. Supervision departments may now conduct interviews with legal representatives or responsible persons of suspected violators to urge timely rectification. Penalties have been increased for serious violations. Notably, individual liability is emphasized - legal representatives, key executives, and directly responsible personnel involved in commercial bribery may be personally sanctioned. The amendments also establish penalties for entities and individuals who accept bribes in commercial activities.
3. Extraterritorial Effect and Cross-border Applicability
For the first time, the revised law explicitly provides for extraterritorial application, allowing authorities to regulate unfair competition acts committed outside China that have a direct impact on the domestic market.
Comment
The amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law reflects China’s increasingly proactive and modern approach to market regulation, underscoring its commitment to addressing new forms of unfair conduct in the digital economy. It enhances legal clarity for market participants and strengthens protection in key areas such as trade secrets, algorithmic practices, and competitive neutrality, fostering a fairer and more orderly competitive environment. At the same time, technology-driven enterprises may face heightened regulatory scrutiny over data usage, platform conduct, and compliance systems. Businesses are therefore advised to reinforce internal risk controls and align operational practices with the new requirements to better navigate the evolving regulatory landscape and sustain competitiveness in the Chinese market.