context: The PRC’s broad 'anti-involution' campaign has advanced further with the release of the internet platform pricing behaviour rulesi issued immediately following the State Administration for Market Regulation’s recent strategic briefing. These new rules explicitly target the aggressive mechanisms that have fueled recent 'race-to-the-bottom' price wars, establishing strict prohibitions against algorithmic price discrimination—specifically the practice of using consumer data, payment habits and algorithms to secretly set different prices for the same product under identical conditions. By outlawing these discriminatory tactics alongside other 'lowest price' competitive strategies that have dominated the retail sector in recent years, Beijing aims to dismantle the algorithmic infrastructure of malicious competition, forcing platforms to pivot from exploitative data arbitrage toward a transparent, fair trading environment.
The National Development and Reform Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Cyberspace Administration of China jointly released the internet platform pricing behaviour rules, effective from 10 April 2026, with a validity period of five years. The rules specify
- guarantees pricing autonomy and regulates fees
- affirms the right of merchants to set prices autonomously across different platforms
- prohibits platforms from imposing unreasonable restrictions, such as mandatory 'lowest price' clauses, forced promotion participation, or algorithm-based suppression
- requires platforms to set fair fee standards based on costs and provide a minimum seven day notice for fee changes
- mandates clear price indication and transparency
- requires clear marking of product prices, service contents and shipping fees without hidden charges
- mandates disclosure of rules for dynamic pricing (e.g., time-based) and explicitly identifying paid search results as 'advertising'
- requires full disclosure of the composition of 'estimated prices' and any potential variances from the final settlement price
- prohibits unfair competition and algorithmic discrimination
- bans predatory pricing (below-cost sales) intended to monopolize the market or squeeze out competitors
- forbids algorithmic price discrimination ('big data killing') where different prices are set for the same product based on user data/habits
- prohibits price gouging, hoarding and fabrication of price-hike information, particularly for emergency supplies
- strengthens consumer rights protection
- mandates that auto-renewal and auto-deduction services must provide clear reminders before deduction and allow easy, anytime cancellation
- requires convenient options to cancel or opt-out of bundled services (e.g., insurance, transport)
- prohibits the use of deceptive pricing, such as fake original prices or misleading discount claims