China issues new anti-monopoly rules against tech giants

China's market regulator released new anti-monopoly guidelines on Sunday that target internet platforms, tightening existing restrictions faced by the country's tech giants. The new rules formalise an earlier anti-monopoly draft law released in November, and clarify a series of monopolistic practices that regulators plan to crack down on.The rules, issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on its website, bar companies from a range of behaviour, including forcing merchants to choose between the country's top internet players, a long-time practice in the market.

SAMR said the latest guidelines would "stop monopolistic behaviours in the platform economy and protect fair competition in the market." The notice also said it will stop companies from price fixing, restricting technologies and using data and algorithms to manipulate the market.SAMR said reports of internet-related anti-monopoly behaviour had been increasing, and that it was facing challenges regulating the industry.The guidelines are expected to put new pressure on the country's leading internet services, including e-commerce sites such as Alibaba Group's Taobao and Tmall marketplaces or JD.com. They will also cover payment services like Ant Group's Alipay or Tencent Holding's WeChat Pay.