China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR)
recently revised its Provisions on Prohibiting Monopoly Agreements
(禁止垄断协议规定)
to specify when vertical agreements will be presumed legal under
the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law's safe harbor provision (the Safe
Harbor).1 This revision, which will take effect on
February 1, 2026, provides specific Safe Harbor criteria that
distinguish between agreements to fix resale prices or set minimum
resale price (i.e., RPM agreements) and all other vertical
agreements.
Background
The Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law generally prohibits vertical
agreements that (1) fix resale prices, (2) set minimum resale
prices, or (3) are otherwise prohibited by SAMR.2
However, the law also provides a safe harbor: A vertical agreement
is not prohibited if the parties can prove that their market shares
in the relevant market are lower than thresholds set by SAMR and
meet other conditions required by SAMR.3
