Chinese government steps up surveillance of technology, but crackdown unlikely to repeat in 2021

The Chinese government has stepped up enforcement of corporate regulations this year, but analysts say it is unlikely to pursue a repeat of the 2021 crackdown that wiped out more than $1 trillion from Chinese tech stocks.

Since January, authorities have launched a formal antitrust investigation into the country’s largest online travel agency, Trip.com, and summoned 12 tech giants, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance’s Douyin, Baidu, JD.com and Meituan, over aggressive price competition and advertising claims ahead of a shopping festival in June. The company also sent a stern warning to Walmart China earlier this month over repeated food safety failures at wholesale retailer Sam’s Club.

“The concentration of actions and the number of companies involved inevitably brings back memories of the regulatory crackdown on internet platform companies more than five years ago,” said Neo Wang, Evercore’s chief China strategist.

Over the course of two years starting at the end of 2020, the Chinese government launched a sweeping crackdown on its most powerful companies, blocking Alibaba’s fintech firm Ant Group from making its debut on the world’s largest stock market, forcing ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing to delist from the United States, and increasing scrutiny across sectors from after-school tutoring to highly leveraged real estate developers.

“In addition to hyperfinancialization, states were reasserting political control over data, capital expansion, tutor ideology, offshore listings, and platform power,” said Paul Triolo, China partner and head of technology policy at global advisory firm DGA Albright Stonebridge Group.

But Toriolo said the situation has changed, as policymakers have grown increasingly wary of the economy being weighed down by lackluster domestic demand and a weak job market, and of private tech companies’ desire to invest more in computing infrastructure to support the country’s AI ambitions. He said the Chinese government was trying to take action but would not “ignite widespread investor panic again.”

Han Sheng Lin, Asia Group’s China director, was more blunt: “Beijing needs far more private sector confidence, jobs and technology investment than it did in 2021.”

After years of tightening regulations, the Chinese government has pivoted to supporting the private sector, holding an unusual closed-door symposium in February 2025 in which Chinese President Xi Jinping told the country’s top entrepreneurs, including Alibaba’s Jack Ma, to “show their talent” in a new era of private economics.

China has now made a so-called anti-involution campaign a policy priority, aimed at tackling the price wars and industry-wide overcapacity that are fueling catastrophic deflation.

In January, the Chinese government launched an antitrust investigation into Trip.com on suspicion of “abuse of market power” and forcing merchants into exclusive contracts before raising fees. The move caused the company’s Hong Kong shares to drop nearly 20% in one day. Citibank analysts estimate that the ongoing antitrust probe could result in fines of up to 4.9 billion yuan ($723 million).

In May, China’s market regulator also imposed its strongest food safety penalties, fining several e-commerce and food delivery platforms a total of 3.6 billion yuan for hosting unidentified vendors that compete on price.

Ahead of the “618” shopping festival, Beijing regulators have summoned online retailers, including Xiaohongshu (which is reportedly preparing to secretly file for an initial public offering in Hong Kong), for misleading subsidy advertising and hidden commission schemes that shift costs to sellers.

The same week, SAMR convened a formal accountability meeting with Walmart China’s senior management and called for an overhaul of its supply chain management over repeated food safety failures at membership warehouse chain Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club has set up a remediation task force to overhaul its supply chain inspections, replacing former Alibaba executive Liu Peng as chairman.

Still, Rhodium Group research analyst Xier Qi said the move is “more of a coordinated signaling rather than a sustained crackdown.”

Another reason for the Chinese government’s restraint: Intensifying competition in artificial intelligence development with the US

Triolo said Beijing wants to avoid undermining the competitiveness of its major companies as the U.S. government continues to put pressure on Chinese platforms to develop their AI infrastructure and the threat of further regulation looms.

“Regulatory constraints are much tighter than they were in 2021,” he said. “We need these companies to invest in AI infrastructure, cloud, logistics and consumer services.”