Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-08-13 03:14Core Viewpoint - The platform economy in China is currently facing severe "involution" challenges, characterized by low-price competition and subsidy wars, necessitating a comprehensive investigation to promote healthy development [1] Group 1: Forms of Involution - Price involution involves platforms using algorithms to enforce suggested prices on merchants, leading to forced acceptance of lower prices [11] - Subsidy wars are prevalent, with multiple platforms investing billions in subsidies to capture market share [12] - Low-price traps are created by platforms offering promotions that lead to merchant losses and irrational consumer behavior [12] Group 2: Roots of Involution - The root causes include market saturation and homogeneous competition, with user growth plateauing and high overlap among major platforms [13] - Similarity in products and services across platforms leads to a lack of differentiation, driven by a capital-driven short-term logic [14] - Regulatory lag and absence of clear rules hinder effective enforcement against below-cost pricing [14] Group 3: Core Conflicts - There is a conflict between platforms and merchants, with profit margins being squeezed due to price competition and high commission rates [15] - Short-term consumer benefits clash with long-term service quality, as low prices lead to declining product quality and increased delivery times [15] - The industry faces a vicious cycle where low-price competition reduces supplier profits, leading to lower product quality and industry degradation [16] Group 4: Long-term Negative Impacts - At the platform level, there is a depletion of innovation resources as platforms prioritize price wars over technological development [17] - The industry experiences a vicious cycle of resource misallocation, with merchants forced to cut costs, leading to declining product quality [18] - Nationally, low-price strategies weaken the international competitiveness of Chinese brands and exacerbate economic security risks [19] Group 5: Legal and Regulatory Challenges - Current legal frameworks face challenges in defining and enforcing "below cost" pricing due to industry-specific cost structures [20] - Evidence collection is difficult for merchants facing coercive pricing practices, as key algorithmic data is controlled by platforms [21] - The legal system struggles to address the hidden nature of platform rules that mask coercive behaviors [22] Group 6: Recommendations for Legal Improvement - There is a need to refine operational standards for "anti-involution" measures, including clear cost accounting guidelines for various industries [24] - Enhancing platform rule transparency and accountability is essential, requiring platforms to consult with merchant representatives before rule changes [25] - Addressing cross-regional enforcement challenges and ensuring government accountability in promoting fair competition is crucial [26] Group 7: Balancing Regulation and Autonomy - The balance between government regulation and platform autonomy should focus on defining clear boundaries for regulatory intervention [27] - A collaborative governance approach is necessary, allowing platforms to participate in rule-making while ensuring fair competition [28]