At the State Administration for Market Regulation's third-quarter 2026 routine press conference held on September 24, Wang Qiuping, the administration's spokesperson and director of its news and publicity department, announced that on July 25 the regulator issued an administrative penalty against Trip.com Group Limited for abusing its dominant market position to engage in monopolistic conduct, ordering it to cease illegal practices including exclusive cooperation arrangements and "lowest price across the entire internet" clauses, with a combined fine and confiscation totaling 5.179 billion yuan.
On September 15, the State Administration for Market Regulation, together with relevant departments, convened an administrative guidance meeting to push online hotel booking platform companies to conduct comprehensive self-inspections in light of the Trip.com case, so as to prevent and defuse involution-style competition problems and competitive risks within the industry.
"By investigating one case and regulating an entire industry, we aim to make business operators clearly understand the bottom line and hold the law in awe, so that consumers can book and stay in hotels with ease and peace of mind, and travel with confidence and reassurance," Wang Qiuping stated.
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