# The probe is the latest flashpoint in the European Union’s scrutiny of Chinese firms.

*business · news · 2026-05-28 · South China Morning Post*

## Key points

- The EU launched a probe under its Foreign Subsidies Regulation into JD.com's acquisition of Ceconomy.
- The European Commission suspects JD.com received financing, tax incentives, and grants from China.
- Preliminary findings suggest these subsidies may have allowed JD.com to distort the acquisition negotiation process.
- The investigation will assess if subsidies helped JD.com strengthen Ceconomy's market position, harming competition.

The probe under the bloc’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) is the latest flashpoint in the European Union’s scrutiny of Chinese firms, with the bloc increasingly seeking to shield its market from what it perceives as unfair state-backed advantages. A preliminary investigation showed that the Chinese firm could have received foreign subsidies that distorted the EU internal market, including “financing, tax incentives and grants” from China, the European Commission said in a statement on Thursday. “In particular, the commission preliminarily identified concerns that the potential foreign subsidies have enabled JD.com to offer conditions that potentially distorted the negotiation process related to the acquisition of Ceconomy,” the statement said. The full investigation would examine whether foreign subsidies gave JD.com an unfair advantage during the acquisition, allowing it to bid higher and leverage its technology and logistics to support Ceconomy, the commission said. It would also assess whether such subsidies could strengthen the merged entity’s market position in ways that harmed competition within the internal market. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU called on Brussels to avoid conflating legitimate business strengths – such as standard financing practices, operational efficiency driven by market forces and competitive edges stemming from innovation and supply chain expertise – with market distortions.

**Companies:** JD.com, Ceconomy
**Countries:** China, European Union

[Read the full story on South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/economy/policy/article/3355213/jdcoms-us26-billion-bid-germanys-ceconomy-faces-deeper-eu-scrutiny)

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