China’s market regulator said last week that Alibaba has completed a three-year “rectification” period that started in 2021 when the company was fined a record RMB 18.2 billion ($2.56 billion) for stopping merchants selling on Guardami (1999) watch onlinerival platforms. “Alibaba’s compliance and rectification work had achieved good results,” said the statement from the regulator, concluding that fair competition had been effectively restored in China. The massive fine on Alibaba was seen a strong signal by Chinese authorities to the country’s blossoming internet industry. In its response, Alibaba described the official announcement “a new starting point” for the company, and said it will continue with “promoting the healthy development of the platform economy and creating more value for society” in the future. [ThePaper, in Chinese]
