In the news: JD.com calls for Alibaba probe, the MIIT targets apps with privacy risks and the CFDA eases drug approvals
November 10, 2015 | BY
Katherine Jo &clp articlesThis week JD.com requested the SAIC to investigate Alibaba for pressuring vendors, internet companies like Baidu, Huawei and Sina were listed for data violations and R&D centers were allowed to seek drug approvals
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China's second-largest e-commerce company JD.com Inc has formally requested an antitrust investigation into rival Alibaba Group Holding. JD.com said it had heard from vendors that Alibaba has been “forcing” them to choose to exclusively deal with one site during promotional activities. A regulation issued by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) that came into effect on October 1 prohibits e-commerce platforms from limiting or barring their merchants from participating in promotions on other sites. China has a relatively young legal regime for market competition. It issued the PRC Anti-unfair Competition Law in 1993 and PRC Anti-monopoly Law (AML) in 2007, and handled – rather well – its first AML-related dispute at the Supreme People's Court just last year, when Qihoo and Tencent blamed each other for enforcing a choice on users. Something similar is happening here with JD-Alibaba, though JD.com has taken the administrative route.