Tackle Both Symptoms and Root Causes in Thoroughly Rectifying “Involution-Style” Competition

In recent years, low-price, low-quality, and low-level “involution-style” competition has been widely criticized. From irrational competition in the electric vehicle industry to periodic supply-demand imbalances in the photovoltaic sector, and to disorderly subsidies on internet platforms, the essence of these phenomena is homogeneous competition divorced from innovation. This “involution-style” competition distorts market mechanisms and suppresses enterprise innovation vitality, and has become a major chronic ailment in the current process of China’s economic transformation and upgrading. In response, both the 2025 Central Economic Work Conference and this year’s *Government Work Report* have designated “thoroughly rectifying ‘involution-style’ competition” as an important task, aiming to create a sound market ecosystem, resolve the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand, and smooth the domestic economic cycle.

这几年，低价、低质、低水平的“内卷式”竞争备受诟病。从电动汽车行业非理性竞争，到光伏产业阶段性供需失衡，再到互联网平台无序补贴，这些现象的本质都是脱离创新的同质化博弈。这种“内卷式”竞争扭曲市场运行机制、抑制企业创新活力，已成为当前我国经济转型升级过程中的一大顽疾。对此，2025年中央经济工作会议和今年的《政府工作报告》都将“深入整治‘内卷式’竞争”作为一项重要任务，旨在营造良好市场生态、化解供强需弱矛盾、畅通国内大循环。

“Involution-style” competition is not normal market competition; rather, it is a type of energy-consuming, disorderly competition in which business entities, lacking core technological breakthroughs and differentiated advantages, engage in practices such as low-price dumping and redundant construction. Its typical characteristic is “increasing quantity without improving quality,” as enterprises fall into a vicious cycle of “more input, lower returns,” ultimately leading to the deterioration of the industry ecosystem and inefficient resource allocation. While this kind of competition may appear to allow consumers to enjoy low-price dividends in the short term, it actually harbors hidden risks. The severe compression of enterprise profit margins inevitably weakens their capacity to invest in high-value-added links such as technological R&D and brand building, while the low-quality issues behind low prices will ultimately be borne by consumers.

“内卷式”竞争不是正常的市场竞争，而是经营主体在缺乏核心技术突破和差异化优势时，通过低价倾销、重复建设等方式展开的内耗型无序竞争。其典型特征是“增量不增质”，企业陷入“投入越多、收益越低”的怪圈，最终导致行业生态恶化、资源配置低效。这种竞争看似能让消费者短期内享受低价红利，实则暗藏风险。企业的利润空间被严重挤压，必然会削弱其在技术研发、品牌建设等高附加值环节的投入能力，而低价背后的低质问题最终仍会由消费者承担。

From the micro to the macro level, from enterprises to the market, “involution-style” competition hinders the pace of high-quality development across multiple dimensions. From the enterprise dimension, it acts as a “corrosive agent” on innovation vitality, seriously impeding industrial upgrading. Reasonable profits are the source of funding for enterprise R&D investment, but “involution-style” competition sacrifices profits for market share, putting enterprises that adhere to quality and innovation at a disadvantage due to higher costs, while speculators participate in low-price competition by lowering standards and reducing configurations, leading to “bad money driving out good.” From the industry dimension, it acts as a “disruptor” of market order, exacerbating the problem of overcapacity. In the absence of institutional constraints, “involution” can easily trigger homogeneous difficulties across the entire industry, with some enterprises blindly expanding production regardless of market demand, then relying on price cuts to digest capacity, forming a cycle of “expansion—price drop—further expansion.” This not only causes misallocation of production factors but also impacts the industry’s normal pricing system and profit logic. More notably, it is a “roadblock” to the construction of a unified national market. The key to building a unified national market is breaking down barriers to achieve free flow of factors and optimal allocation of resources, yet “involution” often goes hand in hand with local protectionism. Some localities segment the market through restrictions, differentiated subsidies, and other means, leading to inconsistent rules and standards and obstructed factor flows. This regionalized “involution” weakens the overall competitiveness of the national market.

从微观到宏观、从企业到市场，“内卷式”竞争在多个维度阻滞高质量发展步伐。从企业维度看，它是创新活力的“腐蚀剂”，严重阻碍产业升级。合理的利润是企业研发投入的源头活水，但“内卷式”竞争则以牺牲利润换取市场份额，使坚守品质、坚持创新的企业因成本高而陷入劣势，投机者则通过降标减配参与低价博弈，导致“劣币驱逐良币”。从行业维度看，它是市场秩序的“搅局者”，加剧产能过剩问题。缺乏制度约束时，“内卷”易引发全行业同质化困境，部分企业无视市场需求盲目扩产，再靠压价消化产能，形成“扩产—价跌—再扩产”的循环。这既造成生产要素错配，又冲击行业正常定价体系和盈利逻辑。更值得注意的是，它是全国统一大市场建设的“拦路虎”。构建全国统一大市场，关键是打破壁垒，实现要素自由流动与资源优化配置，而“内卷”常与地方保护主义相伴，一些地方通过设限、差异化补贴等手段分割市场，导致规则尺度不一、要素流动受阻。这种区域化“内卷”会削弱全国市场的整体竞争力。

Why does “involution-style” competition occur? The reasons are complex. First, structural imbalance between supply and demand is an important trigger for “involution,” giving rise to a typical “prisoner’s dilemma.” Structural overcapacity on the supply side and the lagging improvement in residents’ consumption capacity on the demand side both force enterprises into low-level games within a limited market space, making them prone to price competition. Second, insufficient innovation-driven capacity constrains the leap of competition to a higher level. Some enterprises suffer from path dependence and short-termism, focusing the competitive horizon for too long on “efficiently utilizing existing resources” rather than “creating better resources,” easily falling into a low-level equilibrium trap and lacking the ability to escape homogeneous competition. Third, the current performance evaluation system, fiscal and taxation systems, and statistical systems are not fully compatible with the construction of a unified national market. Some local governments behave improperly, chasing short-term political performance by intervening in the market through hidden barriers, local protection, discriminatory entry thresholds, or improper subsidies, artificially creating “policy depressions,” fragmenting the unified national market, distorting competitive signals, and encouraging enterprises to engage in “policy arbitrage” rather than “innovation for profit.” Fourth, some specific industries have high exit barriers, locking in inefficient capacity and exacerbating “involution.” For example, some manufacturing industries involve huge investments and highly specific asset uses, causing enterprises to be “locked in” by their prior investments. Even when the industry is in a downturn, enterprises find it difficult to exit smoothly and are forced to participate in price wars to survive, leading to persistently low resource allocation efficiency.

为什么会出现“内卷式”竞争？原因是复杂的。其一，供需结构性失衡是“内卷”的重要诱因，催生典型的“囚徒困境”。供给侧的产能结构性过剩和需求侧的居民消费能力提升滞后，都使企业在有限的市场空间内进行低水平博弈，使其容易陷入价格竞争。其二，创新驱动能力不足，制约竞争向高层次跃升。部分企业存在路径依赖和短期主义问题，将竞争的焦点长期局限于“高效利用现有资源”而非“创造更优资源”，极易陷入低水平均衡困境，缺乏摆脱同质化竞争的能力。其三，现行的政绩考核评价体系、财税和统计制度与建设全国统一大市场存在不适应环节。一些地方政府行为失范，为追逐短期政绩，通过隐性壁垒、地方保护、歧视性准入门槛或不当补贴干预市场，人为制造“政策洼地”，割裂全国统一大市场，扭曲竞争信号，助长一些企业“政策套利”而非“创新获利”的倾向。其四，一些特定行业具有较高的退出壁垒，锁定低效产能加剧“内卷”。例如，部分制造业投资巨大且资产用途专一，导致企业被自身的前期投资“套牢”，即便行业不景气，企业也难以顺利离场，只能被迫参与价格战求生，导致资源配置效率持续偏低。

Currently, China’s economy is in a phase of promoting high-quality development and consolidating and strengthening the momentum of recovery and improvement. Rectifying “involution-style” competition can play a key role. This measure precisely targets the key crux currently constraining the smooth flow of the economic cycle. On one end, it connects to the foundational project of “building a unified national market,” by breaking down local protection and market segmentation, fundamentally eradicating the soil that breeds regional, low-level “involution.” On the other end, it aligns with the strategic direction of “developing new quality productive forces,” by correcting incentive mechanisms and effectively reallocating resources from energy-consuming “involution-style” competition to “value competition” driven by standards and innovation.

当前，我国经济正处在推动高质量发展、巩固和增强回升向好态势的阶段，整治“内卷式”竞争能起到关键性作用。这一举措精准切中了当前制约经济循环畅通的关键症结，一端连接“建设全国统一大市场”的基础工程，通过破除地方保护和市场分割，从根本上铲除诱发区域性、低水平“内卷”的土壤；另一端紧扣“发展新质生产力”的战略方向，通过矫正激励机制，将资源从内耗的“内卷式”竞争有效配置到以标准引领、创新驱动的“价值竞争”中。

Since last year, relevant departments have introduced multiple measures to rectify “involution-style” competition, such as requiring the curbing of low-price disorderly competition in the photovoltaic industry chain and carrying out special rectification actions against online chaos in the automotive industry, all of which have achieved good results. At the same time, it must be recognized that rectifying “involution-style” competition is no easy task. Further consolidating results requires continuing to adhere to a systematic approach and precise policy implementation, achieving the unity of addressing both symptoms and root causes.

去年以来，相关部门出台多项举措整治“内卷式”竞争，例如要求遏制光伏产业链低价无序竞争、开展汽车行业网络乱象专项整治行动等，都取得了良好效果。同时也要看到，整治“内卷式”竞争绝非易事，进一步巩固成果需继续坚持系统观念、精准施策，实现治标与治本相统一。

First, consolidate the institutional foundation by deeply advancing the construction of a unified national market through regulating government behavior. Strictly implement the Fair Competition Review Regulations and its implementation rules, comprehensively clean up and abolish policies containing local protection and market segmentation clauses, vigorously correct improper market intervention behaviors, prevent competition chaos caused by government overstepping or absence at the source, and resolutely break through bottlenecks and blockages in accordance with the basic requirement of “five unifications and one openness.” [1]1 “Five unifications and one openness” refers to the basic requirements for building a unified national market: unified basic system, unified market facilities, unified factor and resource markets, unified commodity and service markets, unified market supervision, and further opening up and regulation of improper market competition and market intervention.

一是筑牢制度根基，以规范政府行为纵深推进全国统一大市场建设。严格落实公平竞争审查条例及其实施办法，全面清理废除含地方保护、市场分割条款的政策，大力纠治不当市场干预行为，从源头防范政府越位、缺位引发的竞争乱象，按照“五统一、一开放”的基本要求，坚决破除卡点堵点。

Second, activate the innovation engine and guide competition toward “competing on technology” and “competing on ecosystem.” Encourage enterprises to explore differentiated development paths, relying on technological innovation and standard leadership to enhance value creation capabilities. The series of practices by relevant departments in formulating and revising national standards in fields such as photovoltaics, batteries, and new energy vehicles are precisely powerful measures to guide industries toward quality competition and standard competition.

二是激活创新引擎，引导竞争转向“拼技术”“拼生态”。鼓励企业探索差异化发展路径，依托技术创新和标准引领提升价值创造能力。相关部门制定修订光伏、电池、新能源汽车等领域的国家标准等一系列实践，正是引导行业迈向质量竞争、标准竞争的有力举措。

Third, clarify the bottom line of rules and build a regulatory system that combines rigidity and flexibility. Strengthen enforcement of anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition laws, comprehensively utilize flexible tools such as pre-event warnings, compliance guidance, and administrative interviews, resolutely break down barriers while leaving sufficient space for enterprise innovation, achieving a balance between regulatory effectiveness and development vitality.

三是明确规则底线，构建刚柔并济的监管体系。强化反垄断和反不正当竞争执法力度，综合运用事前预警、合规辅导、行政约谈等柔性工具，既坚决破除壁垒，又为企业创新留足空间，实现监管效能和发展活力的平衡。

Fourth, consolidate governance synergy to form a diversified collaborative pattern. The government should act as a good “gatekeeper” of fair competition; industry associations should call for strengthened self-discipline; enterprises should establish a long-term vision and focus on breakthroughs in key core technologies; especially, chain-leading enterprises should lead joint innovation across the industry chain, jointly promoting the shift of the industry from low-level internal friction to high-level collaboration, smoothly transforming “involution pressure” into “innovation tension.”

四是凝聚治理合力，形成多元协同格局。政府要当好公平竞争“守门人”，行业协会要呼吁强化自律，企业应树立长远理念聚焦关键核心技术突破，尤其是链主企业要引领产业链联合创新，共同推动行业从低水平内耗转向高水平协同，让“内卷压力”顺畅转化为“创新张力”。

Fair competition is the core of the market economy. Only regulated and orderly competition can stimulate market vitality. Rectifying “involution-style” competition does not mean negating market competition; rather, it aims to break the shackles of low-level internal friction and guide enterprises and industries from “competing on price” and “competing on consumption” toward “competing on value” and “competing on innovation.” As the relevant institutional system is continuously improved and regulatory effectiveness is steadily enhanced, the order of market competition will become clearer, enterprise innovation vitality will fully surge, and the foundation for building a unified national market will become increasingly solid, injecting lasting momentum into promoting high-quality economic development and constructing a new development pattern.

公平竞争是市场经济的核心，唯有规范有序的竞争才能激发市场活力。整治“内卷式”竞争并不是否定市场竞争，而是要破除低水平内耗的桎梏，引导企业、产业从“拼价格”“拼消耗”转向“拼价值”“拼创新”。随着相关制度体系不断完善、监管效能持续提升，市场竞争秩序将更加清朗，企业创新活力将充分涌流，全国统一大市场建设的根基将越发坚实，为推动经济高质量发展、构建新发展格局注入持久动力。

(The author is a researcher at the Institute of Economic System and Management, National Development and Reform Commission)

（作者系国家发展改革委经济体制与管理研究所研究员）