Chapter I – General Provisions

Article 1 – This Law is formulated to promote the healthy development of the socialist market economy, encourage and protect fair competition, prevent and stop unfair competition, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of operators and consumers.

Article 2 – Operators shall abide by the principles of voluntariness, equality, fairness and good faith in their production and operations activities, respect laws and business ethics, and participate in market competition fairly.

Unfair competition as referred to in this Law means the acts of operators in their production and operation activities that violate the provisions of this Law, disrupt order in market competition, and damage the legitimate rights and interests of other operators or consumers.

Operators as referred to in this Law refer to natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organizations engaged in the production and dealing in goods or the provision of services (goods as referred to herein shall include services).

Article 3 – Anti-unfair competition work adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

The State shall improve and perfect anti-unfair competition rules and systems, strengthen anti-unfair competition law enforcement and judicial work, maintain market competition order, and improve a unified, open, competitive and orderly market system.

The State shall establish and improve the fair competition review system, strengthen fair competition review work in accordance with the law, and ensure that all types of operators use production factors equally and participate in market competition fairly in accordance with the law.

Article 4 – People’s governments at all levels shall take measures to prevent and stop unfair competition and create a good environment and conditions for fair competition.

The State Council shall establish and improve the coordination mechanism for anti-unfair competition work and coordinate the handling of major issues in maintaining the market competition order.

Article 5 – The departments of the People’s governments at or above the county level that perform market supervision and management duties shall supervise and inspect unfair competition; if laws and administrative regulations provide for supervision and inspection by other departments, they shall be supervised in accordance with such provisions.

Article 6 – The State encourages, supports and protects all organizations and individuals that conduct social supervision for unfair competition.

State organs and their staff shall not support or shield unfair competition.

Industry organizations shall strengthen industry self-discipline, guide and regulate operators in the industry to compete in accordance with the law, and maintain order in market competition.

Chapter II – Unfair Competition

Article 7 – Operators shall not engage in the following confusing behaviors that may cause people to mistakenly believe that the products of others are products of others or that they have a specific connection with others:

1. Unauthorized use of the same or similar marks as the product names, packaging, decoration, etc., of others that have a definite influence [fame];
2. Unauthorized use of the names (including abbreviations, trade names, etc.) and names (including pen names, stage names, online names, translated names, etc.) of others that have a definite influence [fame];
3. Unauthorized use of the main part of a domain name, website name, web page, new media account name, app name or icon of others that enjoy definite influence [fame];
4. Other confusing behaviors that may cause people to mistakenly believe that the products are those of others or that they have a specific connection with others.

Unauthorized use of the registered trademarks or unregistered well-known trademarks of others as the trade names of enterprises, or designating product names, enterprise names (including abbreviations, trade names, etc.), registered trademarks, unregistered well-known trademarks, etc. of others as search keywords, which may cause people to mistakenly believe that the products are those of others or that they have a specific connection with others, shall be considered as confusing behaviors as provided for in the preceding paragraph.

Operators shall not help others to engage in confusing behaviors.

Article 8 – Operators shall not bribe the following entities or individuals by giving money or other means to seek trading opportunities or competitive advantages:

1. Staff of the counterparty to the transaction;
2. Entities or individuals entrusted by the counterparty to the transaction to handle relevant matters;
3. Entities or individuals who use their power or influence to influence transactions.

Entities and individuals specified in the preceding paragraph shall not accept bribes.

In the course of transactions, operators may pay discounts to the counterparty to the transaction or commissions to the middleman in an explicit manner. If an operator pays a discount to the counterparty to the transaction or pays a commission to the middleman, it shall be recorded truthfully. Operators who accept discounts or commissions shall also record them truthfully.

If the staff of an operator gives a bribe, it shall be deemed as the behavior of the operator, except however where the operator has evidence to prove that the staff’s behavior is not related to seeking trading opportunities or competitive advantages for the operator.

Article 9 – Operators shall not make false or misleading commercial publicity about the performance, function, quality, sales status, user reviews, honors, etc., of their products to deceive or mislead consumers and other operators.

Business operators shall not help other business operators to conduct false or misleading commercial publicity by organizing false transactions, false reviews, etc.

Article 10 – Business operators shall not engage in the following acts that infringe upon trade secrets:

1. Obtaining trade secrets of a right holder through theft, bribery, fraud, coercion, electronic intrusion or other improper means;
2. Disclosing, using or allowing others to use the trade secrets of a right holder obtained through the preceding means;
3. Violating confidentiality obligations or a right holder’s requirements for keeping trade secrets, disclose, use or allow others to use the trade secrets in their possession;
4. Instigating, inducing or assisting others to violate confidentiality obligation or the right holder’s requirements for keeping trade secrets, obtain, disclose, use or allow others to use the trade secrets of a right holder.

Other natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated persons other than business operators who organize and implement the illegal acts listed in the preceding paragraph shall be deemed to infringe upon trade secrets.

If a third party knows or should know that the employee, former employee or other unit or individual of the trade secret right holder has committed the illegal acts listed in the first paragraph of this article, and nonetheless obtains, discloses, uses or allows others to use the trade secret, it shall be deemed as an infringement of trade secret.

The trade secret referred to in this Law refers to technical information, business information and other commercial information that is not known to the public, has commercial value and has been kept confidential by the right holder.

Article 11 – Operators shall not engage in the following behavior when conducting prize sales:

1. The prize type, prize redemption conditions, prize amount or prize and other prize sales information are unclear, thereby affecting prize redemption;
2. After prize sales activity begins, the prize type, redemption conditions, cash prize amount, prize or other prize sales-related information are changed without justified reasons;
3. Prize sales are conducted through deceptive means such as falsely claiming that there is a prize or deliberately letting a selected person win the prize;
4. Prize sales in the form of lottery, the amount of the highest prize exceeds RMB 50,000.

Article 12 – Operators shall not fabricate, disseminate or instruct others to fabricate or disseminate false or misleading information, which may damage the business reputation or product reputation of other operators.

Article 13 – Operators shall comply with the provisions of this Law when using the Internet to engage in production and business activities.

Operators shall not use data, algorithms, technologies, platform rules, etc., to influence user choices or other means to carry out the following acts that hinder or disrupt the normal operation of network products or services legally provided by other operators:

1. Inserting links or forcing target jumps in network products or services legally provided by other operators without the consent of other operators;
2. Misleading, deceiving, or forcing users to modify, close, or uninstall network products or services legally provided by other operators;
3. Maliciously implementing incompatibility with network products or services legally provided by other operators;
4. Other acts that hinder or disrupt the normal operation of network products or services legally provided by other operators.

Operators shall not obtain or use data legally held by other operators by improper means such as fraud, coercion, circumvention or destruction of technical management measures, which may damage the legitimate rights and interests of other operators and disrupt the market competition order.

Operators shall not abuse platform rules, directly or instruct others to engage in false transactions, false reviews or malicious returns to other operators, damage the legitimate rights and interests of other operators, and disrupt order in market competition.

Article 14 – Platform operators shall not force or covertly force operators on a platform to sell goods at prices below cost in accordance with their pricing rules, thereby disrupting order in market competition.

Article 15 – Large enterprises and other operators shall not abuse their dominant position in terms of funds, technology, transaction channels, industry influence, etc., require small and medium-sized enterprises to accept obviously unreasonable conditions for transactions, such as payment terms, methods, and conditions, liability for breach of contract, nor shall they delay payment for goods, projects, services, and other accounts owed to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Chapter III – Investigation of Suspected Unfair Competition

Article 16 – Supervision and inspection departments may take the following measures to investigate suspected unfair competition:

1. Enter business premises where unfair competition is suspected for inspection;
2. Question the investigated business operator, interested parties and other relevant units and individuals, and require them to explain relevant circumstances or provide other information related to investigated behavior;
3. Inquire and copy agreements, account books, receipts, documents, records, business correspondence and other materials related to suspected unfair competition;
4. Seal and seize property related to suspected unfair competition;
5. Inquire into bank accounts of operators suspected of unfair competition.

The measures prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be reported in writing to and approved by the principal person in charge of the supervision and inspection department.  The measures prescribed in the fourth and fifth items of the preceding paragraph shall be reported in writing to and approved by the principal person in charge of the supervision and inspection department of the People’s government at or above the municipal-level.

When investigating suspected unfair competition, supervisory and inspection departments shall comply with the provisions of the Administrative Enforcement Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant laws and administrative regulations and shall disclose the results of the investigation to the public in a timely manner in accordance with the law.

Article 17 – When supervisory and inspection departments investigate suspected unfair competition, the investigated business operators, interested parties and other relevant units and individuals shall truthfully provide relevant materials or information.

Article 18 – If a business operator is suspected of violating the provisions of this Law, the supervisory and inspection departments may interview the relevant persons in charge and require them to explain the situation and propose improvement measures.

Article 19 – The supervisory and inspection departments and their staff shall have the obligation to maintain confidentiality of trade secrets, personal privacy and personal information learned during the investigation.

Article 20 – Any unit or individual has the right to report suspected unfair competition to supervisory and inspection departments, and the supervisory and inspection departments shall handle such reports in a timely manner in accordance with the law after receiving them.

The supervisory and inspection departments shall disclose the telephone, mailbox or email address for accepting reports to the public and keep the confidentiality of the reporter. For real-name reports and relevant facts and evidence, the supervisory and inspection departments shall promptly inform the reporter of the results.

Article 21 – Platform operators shall clearly specify fair competition rules within their platforms in the platform service agreement and transaction rules, establish mechanisms for reporting and complaining about unfair competition and handling disputes, guide and regulate fair competition among operators within the platform in accordance with the law; if it is found that an operator within the platform has engaged in unfair competition, necessary measures shall be taken in a timely manner in accordance with the law, relevant records shall be kept, and reports shall be made to the supervision and inspection department of the People’s government at or above the county level where the platform operator resides in accordance with regulations.

Chapter IV – Legal Liability

Article 22 – Operators who violate the provisions of this Law and cause damage to others shall bear civil liability in accordance with the law.

If the legitimate rights and interests of operators are damaged by unfair competition, they may file a lawsuit with the People’s Court.

The amount of compensation for operators who have been damaged by unfair competition shall be determined according to the actual losses suffered as a result of the infringement or the profits gained by the infringer from the infringement.  If an operator intentionally infringes on trade secrets and the circumstances are serious, the amount of compensation may be determined at a level not less than one times but not more than five times the amount determined in accordance with the above method. The amount of compensation shall also include the reasonable costs expended by the operator to stop the infringement.

If an operator violates Article 7 or Article 10 of this Law, and the actual losses suffered by the right holder due to infringement and the profits obtained by the infringer due to infringement are difficult to determine, the People’s Court shall, based on the circumstances of the infringement, order compensation of no more than RMB 5 million to the right holder.

Article 23 – If an operator violates Article 7 of this Law and engages in confusing behavior or assists others to engage in confusing behavior, the supervisory and inspection department shall order the operator to stop the illegal behavior and confiscate the illegal goods. If the illegal business volume is more than RMB 50,000, a fine of no more than five times the illegal business volume may be imposed; if there is no illegal business volume or the illegal business volume is less than RMB 50,000, a fine of no more than RMB 250,000 may be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, the business license shall be revoked.

Whoever sells illegal goods specified in Article 7 of this Law shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph; if the seller does not know that the goods they sell are illegal, but can prove that the goods were legally obtained and identifies the provider thereof, the supervisory and inspection department shall order the seller to stop selling and shall not impose administrative penalties.

If a name registered by the operator violates Article 7 of this Law, the operator shall apply for a name change registration in a timely manner; before the name change is completed, the registration authority shall replace its name with a unified social credit code.

Article 24 – If any unit bribes others or accepts bribes in violation of Article 8 of this Law, the supervisory and inspection department shall confiscate the illegal gains and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 but not more than RMB 1 million; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 5 million shall be imposed, and the business license may be revoked.

If the legal representative, principal person in charge and directly responsible personnel of the operator are personally responsible for the implementation of bribery, and if the relevant individual accepts bribes, the supervisory and inspection department shall confiscate the illegal gains and impose a fine of not more than RMB 1 million.

Article 25 – If any operator violates Article 9 of this Law and makes false or misleading commercial advertisements for its products, or helps other operators to make false or misleading commercial advertisements by organizing false transactions, false reviews, etc., the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior and impose a fine of not more than RMB 1 million; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 2 million shall be imposed, and the business license may be revoked.

If any operator violates Article 9 of this Law and publishes false advertisements, it shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 26 –  If an operator or other natural person, legal person or unincorporated organization violates the provisions of Article 10 of this Law and infringes upon trade secrets, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior, confiscate the illegal gains, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 but not more than RMB 1 million; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 5 million shall be imposed.

Article 27 – If an operator conducts sales with prizes in violation of the provisions of Article 11 of this Law, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior and impose a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 but not more than RMB 500,000.

Article 28 – If an operator violates the provisions of Article 12 of this Law and damages the commercial reputation or product reputation of other operators, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior, eliminate the impact, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 but not more than RMB 1 million; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 5 million shall be imposed.

Article 29 – If an operator violates the provisions of the second, third, or fourth paragraphs of Article 13 of this Law and uses the Internet to engage in unfair competition, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 but not more than RMB 1 million; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 5 million shall be imposed.

Article 30 – If a platform operator violates Article 14 of this Law and forces or covertly forces operators on the platform to sell goods at prices below cost, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior and impose a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 500,000 but not more than RMB 2 million shall be imposed.

Article 31 – If an operator violates Article 15 of this Law by abusing its dominant position, the supervisory and inspection authorities at the provincial level or above shall order it to make corrections within a prescribed time limit. If it fails to do so, a fine of up to RMB 1 million shall be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 5 million shall be imposed.

Article 32 – If an operator engages in unfair competition in violation of this Law and actively eliminates or mitigates the harmful consequences of the illegal act or meets other statutory conditions, administrative penalties may be reduced or mitigated in accordance with the law; if the violation is minor and corrected in a timely manner without causing harmful consequences, no administrative penalty shall be imposed.

Article 33 – If an operator engages in unfair competition in violation of this Law and is subject to administrative penalties, the supervisory and inspection authorities shall record the violation in the credit record and disclose it to the public in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 34 – If an operator violates this Law, it shall bear civil, administrative, and criminal liabilities. If its assets are insufficient to cover all liabilities, civil liability shall take precedence.

Article 35 – Whoever obstructs the supervisory and inspection authorities from performing their duties in accordance with this Law, or refuses or hinders an investigation, shall be ordered by the supervisory and inspection department to make corrections; A fine of up to RMB 10,000 may be imposed on individuals, and a fine of up to RMB 100,000 on enterprises.

Article 36 – If a party is dissatisfied with a decision made by the supervisory and inspection authorities, it may apply for administrative reconsideration or file an administrative lawsuit in accordance with the law.

Article 37 – If officers of the supervisory and inspection authorities abuse their powers, neglect their duties, engage in malpractices for personal gain, or disclose trade secrets, personal privacy, or personal information learned during an investigation, they shall be disciplined according to the law.

Article 38 – If a violation of this Law constitutes a breach of public security administration, public security administrative penalties shall be imposed in accordance with the law; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law.

Article 39 – In civil litigation involving infringement of trade secrets, where the trade secret right holder provides preliminary evidence that it has taken confidentiality measures for the claimed trade secret and reasonably indicates that the trade secret has been infringed, the alleged infringer shall prove that the claimed trade secret does not fall under the scope defined by this Law.

If the trade secret right holder provides preliminary evidence reasonably indicating infringement and submits any of the following types of evidence, the alleged infringer shall prove that it has not engaged in the infringement:

1. There is evidence showing that the alleged infringer had access to or opportunities to acquire the trade secret, and the information used is substantially identical to the trade secret;
2. There is evidence showing that the trade secret has been disclosed, used, or is at risk of being disclosed or used by the alleged infringer;
3. Other evidence indicates that the trade secret has been infringed by the alleged infringer.

Chapter V – Supplementary Provisions

Article 40 – Where acts of unfair competition specified in this Law are committed outside the territory of the People’s Republic of China, disrupting the order in competition in the domestic market and harming the legitimate rights and interests of domestic operators or consumers, the matter shall be handled in accordance with this Law and relevant legal provisions.

Article 41 – This Law shall enter into force on October 15, 2025.

[Ends]

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