On June 27, 2025, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed a significant amendment to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the PRC (“Revised Law“), which amendment will take effect on October 15, 2025. This is the third major amendment to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the PRC since its adoption in 1993, reflecting China’s efforts to adapt to the rapidly evolving digital economy and address emerging issues related to unfair competition. Compared with the current version of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, which was revised in 2019 (“2019 Version“), the Revised Law contains several key changes that are likely to have a substantial impact on businesses operating in China.
1. An Expanded Scope of Traditional Anti-Unfair Competition Protection
(1) Confusing Behaviour: Article 7 broadens the scope of protection against confusing behaviour. It expands the current law’s coverage by adding online names, new media account names, app names and icons into the protected scope of unauthorized use. It also explicitly lists the following as confusing behaviour: using others’ registered trademarks or unregistered well-known trademarks as the trade name in an enterprise name (causing confusion), and setting others’ product names, enterprise names, registered trademarks, unregistered well-known trademarks, etc., as search keywords without authorization. Furthermore, assisting others in engaging in confusing behaviour is also deemed to constitute unfair competition.
(2) Commercial Bribery: Article 8 extends the prohibition to include the acceptance of bribes, meaning that both the offering and the acceptance of bribes will constitute commercial bribery. The Revised Law also imposes penalties on the legal representatives, main persons in charge, and individuals directly responsible for the actions of the businesses involved, thereby extending liability to individuals who might more effectively curb such practices.
(3) False Advertising: Article 9 expands the targets of false advertising from “consumers” to “consumers and other business operators”, and adds false reviews as a prohibited method of false advertising.
(4) Infringement of Trade Secrets: While the scope of infringing acts remains unchanged, the minimum fine for serious violations under Article 26 has increased from RMB 500,000 to RMB 1,000,000.
(5) Prize Sales: Article 11 further prohibits changes to prize-related information (types, redemption conditions, amounts, etc.) after the start of prize sales without justifiable reasons.
(6) Commercial Slander: Article 12 explicitly covers instigating others to engage in slander and extends the target from “competitors” to “other business operators”.
2. Regulation of Emerging Unfair Competition in the Digital Economy and Related Areas
(1) Digital Economy Regulation: Article 13 expands the methods of engaging in unfair competition on the Internet from the use “technical means” to the use of “data and algorithms, technology, and platform rules, etc.” to engage in unfair competition. It introduces bans on obtaining data through fraudulent or coercive means, circumventing or sabotaging technical measures, and abusing platform rules to instigate false transactions, reviews or malicious returns.
(2) Platform Operators’ Responsibilities: The newly added Articles 14 and 21 impose obligations on platform operators, including prohibiting forced below-cost sales, requiring clear fair competition rules on platforms, establishing complaint mechanisms, and mandating reporting of violations. Penalties for non-compliance range from RMB 50,000 to RMB 2,000,000.
(3) Abuse of Dominant Position: The newly added Article 15 prohibits large enterprises from using their advantages in terms of capital, technology or channels, etc. to impose unreasonable terms or delay payments to small and medium-sized enterprises.
3. Enhanced Supervision and Penalties
In addition to the investigative measures already in place (such as inspections, document reviews and asset seizures), the Revised Law allows regulators to summon relevant responsible persons for interviews. Officials in charge are subject to expanded confidentiality obligations covering trade secrets, personal privacy and personal information. The Revised Law increases the amounts of fines for violations, and introduces extraterritorial effect: acts committed abroad that disrupt China’s market order or harm domestic stakeholders will be subject to application of the Revised Law.
These revisions represent a significant update to China’s anti-unfair competition legislation in response to emerging economic trends. Businesses should review their operations in light of the Revised Law to ensure compliance. Please feel free to contact us with any enquiries concerning the application of the Revised Law.
