The platform economy, as a novel economic form fostering symbiosis between large, medium, and small enterprises, plays a crucial role in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, driving industrial upgrading, and cultivating new growth drivers.
Recently, to advance collaborative development among enterprises of all sizes within the platform economy and foster an open, shared, and mutually beneficial ecosystem, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the "Action Plan for Promoting Collaborative Development of Large, Medium, and Small Enterprises in the Platform Economy (2026-2028)". This plan charts a three-year roadmap for the high-quality development of the platform economy, aiming to address industry pain points such as resource silos in large enterprises and the transformation difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Action Plan sets a clear goal: by 2028, the level of collaborative development among enterprises of all sizes in the platform economy will see a significant leap forward, resulting in a batch of replicable and scalable collaborative innovation models and nurturing a group of manufacturing champions in the platform economy sector.
MIIT indicated that the next steps will involve establishing and improving a collaborative promotion mechanism with relevant departments, detailing task allocations, strengthening policy support, enhancing experience exchange, and accelerating the implementation of the Action Plan's measures to provide robust support for advancing new industrialization and fostering new quality productive forces.
Platform economy development has received a significant policy signal: collaborative growth between large and small enterprises will become a central theme for its future.
Data shows that the user base of major domestic platform enterprises has surpassed 1 billion. The platform economy, through various forms like e-commerce, food delivery, and ride-hailing, is deeply integrated into daily life, serving millions of households and connecting countless industries, with its strategic importance growing steadily.
China has consistently emphasized the healthy development of the platform economy. The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of 2025 for the first time proposed to "promote win-win development among platform enterprises, platform-based operators, and workers." The outline for the 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes driving innovation and healthy development in the platform economy, and strengthening supervision over platform enterprises' data, algorithms, traffic, and rules.
MIIT pointed out that China's platform economy is currently at a critical juncture of transformation and upgrading. There is an urgent need to adapt to the new circumstances and requirements of socio-economic development and technological-industrial changes during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, to promote collaborative development among enterprises, and to accelerate the construction of an innovative, integrated, healthy, and efficient development ecosystem.
Against this backdrop, breaking down the barriers of "operating in silos" within platform ecosystems has been placed at a key position for the platform economy's transformation.
The Action Plan is grounded in this new stage of collaborative development. It adheres to a problem-oriented, goal-oriented, and result-oriented approach, systematically planning for innovation synergy, ecosystem synergy, and open synergy among enterprises. This aims to fully unleash the creativity and competitiveness of the platform economy and vigorously promote the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy.
Simply put, the goal is to actively promote "breaking barriers, fostering openness, and strengthening collaboration" to build a fairer, more dynamic, and more sustainable platform economy development system.
Specifically, the Action Plan, targeting a significant improvement in collaborative development levels, proposes measures in three key areas.
In strengthening innovation synergy leadership, it includes launching a collaborative innovation navigation initiative, accelerating the cultivation of diverse innovation entities, promoting deeper innovation cooperation between enterprises, enhancing capabilities in technological, industrial, and service innovation, improving the innovation development support system, and bolstering new growth drivers for the platform economy.
In improving the ecosystem synergy system, it involves an ecological synergy quality enhancement initiative, increasing support for SMEs in quality improvement and brand building, supporting collaborative international expansion of enterprises, strengthening platform operation compliance, and promoting joint creation of a compliant ecosystem, shared industrial ecosystem, co-built service ecosystem, and win-win international expansion ecosystem to expand new space for platform economy development.
In deepening open synergy and linkage, it entails an open synergy expansion initiative, accelerating the formulation of platform openness lists, guiding platform enterprises to accelerate the open sharing of elements like technology, data, and computing power with SMEs, establishing public service platforms for SMEs, and constructing a new development pattern for the platform economy.
The issuance of the Action Plan signifies that China's platform economy is entering a new phase of diversified and collaborative development.
Beyond the Action Plan, regulatory authorities have recently intensified efforts to improve the normalized regulatory system for the platform economy.
On one hand, there is a firm crackdown on cut-throat internal competition within platforms and the dismantling of data barriers, using stringent regulation to uphold the baseline of fair competition. On the other hand, supporting policies are being issued to guide platforms to open and share resources, using flexible policies to activate industrial synergy and continuously release clear policy signals.
In May, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced its conditional approval, with restrictive measures, of Tencent's acquisition of equity in Himalaya. This aims to maintain fair competition order in China's online audio streaming and music streaming platform markets and prevent "involution-style" competition in the platform sector.
On June 18th, SAMR announced it would strengthen whole-process supervision of Huolala's antitrust compliance rectification from four aspects, solidifying platform entities' primary responsibility. Through in-depth rectification of "involution-style" competition in the platform economy, it seeks to protect the interests of truck drivers and consumers, forming a market order characterized by quality-based pricing and healthy competition.
Furthermore, the "Ten Provisions on Regulating Subsidy Behaviors of Food Delivery Platforms (Draft for Comments)" was also open for public feedback on June 17th. Addressing issues such as food delivery platforms using capital advantages to seize market share, coercing platform-based operators to participate in subsidies, and leading to irrational industry competition, it aims to standardize subsidy behaviors, guide platforms to operate legally and compliantly, and engage in healthy competition.
The recently released Action Plan also sets specific targets: By 2028, significantly elevate the collaborative development level of enterprises in the platform economy, form a batch of replicable and scalable collaborative innovation models, and cultivate a group of manufacturing champion enterprises in the platform economy field.
The degree of open sharing of elements like technology and data will continuously increase, with three batches of platform openness lists to be released and no fewer than 100 pilot projects for platform resource opening scenarios to be selected.
New technologies, applications, models, and business formats in the platform economy will accelerate their emergence, aiming to create no fewer than 10 service platforms and 60 implementable intelligent service application scenarios.
An official from MIIT stated that the next steps will involve deepening inter-departmental coordination and strengthening the overall coordination of key task advancement. Support will be given to key regions in issuing differentiated implementation rules to build a collaborative development pattern characterized by regional agglomeration and distinctive features.
The platform economy statistical monitoring system will be improved, with enhanced monitoring and analysis of SME production and operations, and dynamic assessment of policy implementation effectiveness. Industry organizations and think tanks will play their bridging role, summarizing best practices, promoting exchange and mutual learning, and fostering a favorable environment for collaborative platform economy development.
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