China launches antitrust investigation into Trip.com

By: Trademagazin Date: 2026. 01. 14. 10:07

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China’s market supervision authority has launched an investigation into online travel company Trip.com Group Limited for alleged violations of competition law, China’s State Administration for Market Supervision (SAMR) said on Wednesday.

According to the authority, the decision to initiate the procedure was made based on the results of preliminary inspections and in accordance with the country’s law prohibiting anti-competitive behavior. Trip.com is suspected of abusing its dominant market position, the statement said, but did not provide details.

Under Chinese competition law, companies found guilty of violations can be fined between 1 percent and 10 percent of their previous year’s revenue.

Trip.com said in a statement that it was “actively cooperating” with authorities during the investigation and “fully complying with regulatory requirements.”

According to the company’s latest financial report, the company’s third-quarter net revenue grew 16 percent year-on-year, while Revenue from hotel bookings rose 18 percent year-on-year.

Chinese authorities have cracked down on several major technology companies in recent years to crack down on “unfair competition that distorts the market environment.”

In 2021, Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan (about 853 billion forints) after an investigation found that the company had abused its market dominance for years.

In recent times, the Chinese government has been cracking down on what it calls “excessive price competition.” also seeks to reduce the costs of doing business, which it believes are damaging the profitability of companies and contributing to deflationary pressure.