China announced that it would strengthen antitrust measures aimed at e-commerce businesses and other information technology companies at its Central Economic Work Conference, which lays out the country's economic policies for the next year. This change bears careful scrutiny, as it will significantly impact the massive internet companies that have supported China's consumption-based economy.
The conference listed "antitrust and the prevention of disorderly expansion of capital" as important issues. China enacted its antitrust law in 2008, but the explicit statement about preventing the disorderly expansion of capital is unusual.
