China tech crackdown: in 2021, technology giants came under intense scrutiny after sleeping watchdogs awakened

Almost overnight, China’s anti-monopoly bureaucrats became a force feared by Big Tech, as they issued hefty fines for deals struck without official approval

As regulators jostled for control over the tech sector, there were signs of ‘regulatory competition’ and inconsistency, according to industry observers

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Almost overnight, China’s anti-monopoly bureaucrats became a force feared by Big Tech. Illustration by Lau Ka-kuen

Published: 10:00am, 22 Dec 2021Updated: 3:07pm, 18 Jun 2024

2021 will go down as a tough year for Chinese technology firms as Beijing moved to exert control over the once-freewheeling sector. In the first of a four-part series, the South China Morning Post looks at how the sudden change in relationship between the government and Big Tech has shaped the companies, their entrepreneurs, and the regulators themselves.

On a chilly day in November, a new black-and-white name board was added to a marbled column at the entrance of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) building in downtown Beijing.

A short, low-profile ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in front of the drab offices, marking Beijing’s decision to upgrade the political status of what was just one of many internal departments within the SAMR.

That move would have a lasting impact on the country’s business environment, and in particular, China’s Big Tech firms that had been largely immune from antitrust scrutiny until recently.

Until a year ago, the anti-monopoly bureau was largely a toothless watchdog overseeing Big Tech. But on Christmas Eve last year – acting on orders from the country’s top leadership to bring down “monopolies” and curb “irrational expansion of capital” – the department’s bureaucrats raided the campus of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the Post.

Almost overnight, the anti-monopoly bureaucrats became a force to be feared - and they had the backing of China’s top leader. In March and again in August, President Xi Jinping ordered the anti-monopoly team to beef up their antitrust activity, Gan Lin, the new head of the bureau, told state media in an interview published Sunday.

SCMP Series

China’s technology crackdown: a year on

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