Chinese Tech Companies Ink Antitrust Vow 

More than 30 Chinese tech firms, including Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, together inked an understanding on antitrust matters, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

Those tech firms met at an event in Beijing and inked the agreement on “fair competition, consumer protection and strengthening innovation” in the words of SCMP. The group of tech companies, which also includes Huawei Technologies, Baidu, JD.com, and artificial intelligence company iFlyTek, gathered at the China Internet Conference in Beijing on Tuesday, July 13, and signed the convention on fair competition, consumer protection and strengthening innovation, according to a statement on the Internet Society of China, the conference organizer.

The news comes as the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the antitrust body in China, has been stepping up scrutiny of late tech companies as of late last year.

The convention was drafted by tech companies and the Intellectual Property Centre of the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). During the event, the tech firms were awarded a plate by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Internet Society of China in recognition of their service.

The Internet Platform Operators Anti-Monopoly Self-discipline Convention prohibits tech companies from participating in various monopolies.

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