China Blocks Assistance to EU Investigation into JD.com Deal
China ordered entities not to help an EU probe into JD.com's $2.5 billion retail bid, affecting European tech shoppers and cross-border trade.
2026年8月24日
/ DANGDI / DANGDI / DANGDI /Chinese residents in Europe may face impacts from growing trade tension. China ordered its entities not to assist an EU probe into JD.com.
JD.com wants to buy Ceconomy for 2.5 billion US dollars. Ceconomy is the German parent of electronics chains MediaMarkt and Saturn. MediaMarkt is well known to shoppers in Denmark and Europe.
The European Commission started an investigation into the deal in May. The EU acts under its Foreign Subsidies Regulation. Officials fear foreign subsidies might give JD.com an unfair advantage.
On Wednesday, August 19, China's Ministry of Justice issued a ban. China forbade Chinese entities from sharing information with the EU probe. China called the EU demands unnecessary and a violation of rules.
The ministry warned China will retaliate if the EU persists. This is China's second order against extraterritorial EU probes. In May, China issued a similar order regarding security firm Nuctech.
This dispute highlights rising trade tension between China and the EU. Source: Reuters.
Source: The Business Times
