Article: Beijing warns tech giants to curb ‘involution’ amid AI giveaway war

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Chinese regulators have warned major technology platforms to curb "involutionary competition," referring to cutthroat, low-quality price wars. The warning specifically addresses an intense giveaway battle among tech giants to attract users for their AI apps ahead of the Lunar New Year.

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) urged companies to uphold fair competition and foster healthy innovation, without naming specific firms. The term "involution" describes damaging economic practices that the government has vowed to combat across several industries.

The main topics covered are regulatory intervention in the tech sector, the concept of "involution" in business competition, and the aggressive marketing strategies for AI applications during a key shopping period.

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https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343614/beijing-warns-tech-giants-curb-involution-amid-ai-giveaway-war?utm_source=rss_feed

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Big Tech - South China Morning Post

Published Date

2026-02-15 06:30

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2026-03-04 14:30

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2026-03-04 15:20

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Beijing warns tech giants to curb ‘involution’ amid AI giveaway war
Companies should ‘uphold a fair and competitive’ environment to ‘foster innovation and healthy development’, regulator says
The SAMR “reminded” the platforms to “further regulate promotional activities” and stay clear of “all forms of involutionary competition”, it said, without naming any exact activities conducted by the companies.
The companies should “jointly uphold a fair and competitive market environment to foster innovation and healthy development within the platform economy”, the regulator added.
The word “involution”, or neijuan, refers to cutthroat, low-quality price competition in sectors ranging from electric vehicles to food delivery. It has become a common term in China over the past few years, with Beijing vowing to combat the phenomenon because of its damaging economic effects.
China’s tech giants have been locked in an intensifying giveaway battle before the Lunar New Year, one of the year’s most critical shopping periods, to attract users for their services, especially AI apps.