Trip.com hit with $770 million antitrust fine in China

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on July 25 that Trip.com Group – the country’s largest online travel platform – was fined and had assets confiscated totaling 5.2 billion yuan (about $770 million). The penalty includes a 3.52 billion‑yuan fine, confiscation of 1.66 billion yuan in illegal gains, and a mandate to refund 122 million yuan held from hotel operators.

SAMR said Trip.com abused its dominant position in the domestic online hotel‑booking market by forcing exclusive partnerships with hotels, allocating traffic preferentially, and requiring hotels to offer the lowest price on its platform, thereby restricting competition and harming consumers. Trip.com accepted the regulator’s findings, pledged to comply, and will implement systematic rectification measures across its business.

The case marks one of the steepest antitrust penalties imposed on a Chinese technology firm since the 2021 crackdown on Alibaba, underscoring Beijing’s tightening oversight of dominant online platforms.