China Passes Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law
On 27 June 2025, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress passed the revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the PRC (2025 Version) (反不正当竞争法(2025年修订版), the “Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law”), which will come into effect on 15 October 2025. These revisions aim to strengthen the regulatory framework to address evolving market practices and enhance fair competition.
One notable development is that the Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law introduces new provisions addressing “rat race” competition (内卷式竞争), strengthening the regulatory framework through the following key measures:
- establishing a national “fair competition review system” to ensure equal market access and resource allocation;
- imposing obligations on platform operators, prohibiting them from compelling or coercing merchants into below-cost sales through platform pricing rules; and
- prohibiting large enterprises and other operators from abusing their dominant position in terms of capital, technology, trading channels and industry influence to require small and medium enterprises (“SMEs“) to accept transaction conditions – such as payment deadlines, modes, conditions and default liabilities – that are obviously unreasonable, and to default on payments to SMEs for goods, projects and services.
Second, it expands prohibitions against acts misleading the public about product/service associations. Key amendments include (i) explicitly classifying the unauthorised use of influential new media account names, application names, or icons as misleading; (ii) confirming the unauthorised incorporation of registered or unregistered well-known trademarks into trade names (字号) as an infringement if it is likely to cause confusion; and (iii) prohibiting the setting of others’ product names, enterprise names (abbreviations, trade names), registered or unregistered well-known trademarks as keywords if it is likely to cause confusion.
Third, the Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law explicitly imposes personal liability on individuals for commercial bribery, including legal representatives, principal managers, and directly responsible personnel of the business operators, as well as individuals accepting bribes. Administrative fines for such individuals may reach up to RMB 1 million.
Finally, the Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law expressly introduces an extraterritorial clause, extending its applicability to acts committed outside of China that disrupt the domestic market order or harm Chinese businesses or consumers. This is consistent with the practice of the relevant regulatory authority over the past years.
China Releases Security Requirements for Processing of Sensitive Personal Information
On 17 June 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR“) and the National Standardization Administration released the Data Security Technology—Security Requirements for Processing of Sensitive Personal Information (数据安全技术 敏感个人信息处理安全要求, “Requirements“), which will take effect on 1 November 2025.
The Requirements closely align with China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), building upon its foundational principles by providing detailed operational guidance to ensure that data processing meets requirements for transparency, legitimacy, and necessity. Sensitive personal information processors will face more specific and well-defined compliance obligations.
PRC regulations impose stricter “notice + separate consent” requirements for sensitive personal information, mandating pre-collection notice through dedicated channels and requiring (i) separate consent for each processing purpose/function, prohibiting bundled consent when data serves multiple purposes; and (ii) technical safeguards like data tagging or partitioned storage to prevent unauthorised use, posing significant compliance challenges for digital platforms’ front-end and back-end systems.
Further Specified Scope of Sensitive Personal Information
The Requirements provides a detailed appendix further specifying the scope of sensitive personal information, offering additional implementation guidance for organisations handling such data, including:
- Biometric information;
- Religious beliefs;
- Specific identities information, which refers to personal identity details that significantly impact an individual’s dignity or social reputation or are otherwise unsuitable for public disclosure, such as disability status;
- Medical health information;
- Financial account information;
- Location tracking information;
- Personal information of children under the age of 14; and
- Other sensitive personal information with high risk upon misuse.
Notably, the Requirements provide a more precise definition of “location tracking information,” explicitly excluding location data generated by delivery personnel (such as food delivery and package couriers) in service scenarios. This refinement demonstrates thoughtful consideration for normal business operations.
Stricter Validity Criteria for Separate Consent
The draft for public comments version of the Requirements provides only a principle of “separate consent” for processing sensitive personal information, whereas the finalised Requirements elaborates on stricter validity criteria, mandating that consent must (i) be based on full disclosure; (ii) be specific to the processing purpose; and (iii) reflect a clear, affirmative indication of willingness, expressly prohibiting passive mechanisms like pre-ticked boxes, bundled authorisations, or other default opt-in methods.
China and Laos Sign MOU to Build the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Cooperation Centre
On 3 April 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU“) signing ceremony on the Lao-China Artificial Intelligence Innovation Cooperation Centre (“Centre“) was held between the Laos Ministry of Technology and Commerce, the China-ASEAN Information Habor Company Limited and ALO Technology Company Limited.
The purpose of this MOU is to jointly build and operate the Centre, which seeks to establish an artificial intelligence (“AI“) processing infrastructure and a large-scale Lao language information system. The Centre will focus on creating industrial AI models in the fields of medicine, agriculture, education, trade and other sectors, and jointly implement training programs to build local talent.
The signing of this MOU marks a new chapter of substantive collaboration in AI between the two countries. It also strengthens efforts to develop the digital economy in Lao PDR.
Please note that whilst the information in this Update is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief at the time of writing, it is only intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and should not be treated as a substitute for specific professional advice
