China Doubles Down on Weaponising Antitrust Regulations

Another Case of China’s Unfair Play

Authors

October 2025 was all about another twist-and-turn in US-China relations. Specifically, the slew of export restrictions announced by China on October 9, and the subsequent climbdown by the US, mark a significant milestone in this dyadic competition.

While these export restrictions garnered much attention, little has been said about another instrument China has repeatedly deployed in recent years. And that instrument is the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), which delays or conditionally approves merger and acquisition deals, even when both parties are foreign entities.

SAMR’s authority is triggered to review any M&A deal if the companies involved meet certain revenue thresholds in China, even if the companies are not Chinese. It allows Beijing to claim jurisdiction over a deal between, say, two American tech giants if they both sell a significant amount of products or services in China. Punishment for non-compliance can range from hefty fines to a complete ban on operating in the Chinese market. SAMR has repeatedly used its merger review process to extract concessions, protect domestic industries, force technology transfers to a third-party Chinese player, or signal political displeasure.

In the latest instance, just a day after the export restrictions, SAMR announced that it had launched investigations into Qualcomm’s acquisition of Autotalks, an Israeli firm. This small transaction, which was announced in 2023, fell below the deal threshold that triggers SAMR approvals. Nevertheless, SAMR announced this investigation just ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting. Next, we can expect Qualcomm to be fined when the next round of US-China tussle heats up.

The Economist carried a good review of these actions:

SAMR is shaping up to be one of China’s best-equipped regulators. It has widened its jurisdiction in recent years. Chinese firms fear its new willingness to crack down on local monopolies, as it did with Alibaba, an e-commerce giant, in 2021. It is also undertaking more probes of small transactions abroad, such as Qualcomm’s deal in Israel, which was hardly noticed when first announced in 2023… The probe into Qualcomm is dual-pronged, too. Its acquisition target, Autotalks, makes intelligent-transport systems that connect cars with their surroundings. The connected-car industry is one that China seeks to dominate, along with electric vehicles and autonomous driving. Qualcomm is a leading competitor in connected-car technology; Chinese technocrats may want to slow the build-up in its capabilities. Outsiders may never know what goes on in China’s highest trade-war councils, but it is increasingly clear that antitrust probes are part of their arsenal. [The Economist, October 14]

The information about these investigations is selectively released by SAMR, and only in Mandarin. I couldn’t find all the investigations in one place on the Mandarin version of its official website. Information is selectively released as news reports.

However, from what I could find, nearly 30 per cent of the cases concluded by SAMR were where both parties are foreign players.

The recent list of notable investigations that it has taken up are here:

Further reading:

  1. Lingling Wei and Asa Fitch, ‘China’s New Tech Weapon: Dragging Its Feet on Global Merger Approvals’, The Wall Street Journal

  2. Angela Zhang, ‘Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism: How The Rise of China Challenges Global Regulation’

The long list suggests China is deploying antitrust regulations as a geopolitical weapon. Many countries have such extra-territorial anti-monopoly rules, but what makes China’s leverage powerful is its market size. No company wants to lose out on the Chinese market even if it means agreeing to SAMR’s unreasonable demands. This is another instance of China’s unfair exploitation of a global system.