China publishes draft competition rules for online platforms

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's market regulator on Tuesday published draft rules aimed at preventing monopolistic behavior by internet platforms, in a move that will increase scrutiny on the country's e-commerce marketplaces and payment services.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), which issued the draft, said it wanted to prevent platforms from dominating the market or from adopting methods aimed at blocking fair competition.
The definitions it provided for internet platforms mean the new rules could apply to e-commerce sites, such as Alibaba Group's Taobao and Tmall marketplaces or JD.com <9618.HK> <JD.O>, as well as payment services like Ant Group's <688688.SS> <6688.HK> Alipay or Tencent Holding's <0700.HK> WeChat Pay.
The draft rules would also consider whether a transaction treats different customers in different ways based on big data, payment ability, consumption preferences, and usage habits, according to the statement from SAMR.
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