China's market regulator said Thursday that it has started an anti-monopoly investigation of the country's IT giant, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

The move comes as President Xi Jinping has pledged to strengthen measures to curb monopolistic behavior and disorderly capital expansion of fast-growing IT firms.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s headquarters in Hangzhou, China, is pictured on Nov. 10, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

China's State Administration for Market Regulation said it has begun to investigate Alibaba, a Chinese company that has grown into one of the world's largest e-commerce businesses, in response to reports to the authorities.

Merchants who sell products through Alibaba's website are believed to be urged by the firm not to use other online services provided by its competitors.

Alibaba said in a statement released later in the day that it "will actively cooperate with the regulators on the investigation."


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