China is reportedly investigating Trip.com Group for suspected monopoly violations. The country’s market regulator recently announced that it is investigating the travel provider for alleged breaches of competition laws, a report claims. According to a report by the news agency AFP, this move follows earlier crackdowns by Beijing on major internet companies and e-commerce giants like Alibaba in 2020. The report claims that officials are checking if the company used its size to unfairly control the travel market.

What Chinese officials said about Trip.com violating monopoly rules

In a statement to AFP, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said that authorities have launched an investigation into Trip.com Group for possible misuse of its dominant market position, which may violate the Anti-Monopoly Law. The regulator said the probe began after “preliminary investigations”, but did not share further details.Trip.com, which offers train, flight, and hotel booking services in China and other countries, said it would “actively cooperate” with the investigation. In a post on WeChat, the company said it would “fully implement regulatory requirements, and work with all industry parties to build a sustainable market environment.” Trip.com also said its operations were “proceeding normally.”Under China’s competition law, companies can be fined 1 to 10% of their previous-year earnings if they break the rules. The online travel company saw its earnings grow 16% year over year. Money from hotel bookings went up 18% in 2024, according to the company’s latest financial report.In December, a business group for vacation rentals in Yunnan province (in southwest China) said it received many complaints from its members. These complaints alleged that some online travel companies, such as Trip.com, were using their powerful market position unfairly, according to a Channel News Asia report.The problems include “coercive clauses, arbitrary commission hikes and blocking internet traffic,” the group’s statement said. The group also claimed that it started fighting back against these monopoly practices.Chinese officials have previously gone after big tech companies to stop what they view as unfair competition that hurts the market. In 2021, China gave Alibaba a huge fine of “18 billion yuan (US$2.58 billion)” after finding the shopping company had misused its market power for years.More recently, the Chinese government has been stopping companies from cutting prices too much, which has hurt businesses and contributed to falling prices across the economy.