Trip.com co-founders step down as antitrust probe begins

Leadership transition coincides with growing regulatory scrutiny of China’s largest online travel agency

Trip.com Group has announced that two of its co-founders, Min Fan and Qi Ji, are stepping down from the company’s board of directors as part of a broader leadership transition. The announcement comes shortly after China’s State Administration for Market Regulation opened a formal antitrust investigation into the company over suspected abuse of market dominance. Both executives played major roles in building Trip.com into China’s largest online travel agency and remained influential figures in the company for decades. Their departure signals a gradual shift from founder-led governance toward a new phase driven by professional management.

Key takeaways

• Founding leaders step back: Trip.com co-founders Min Fan and Qi Ji have resigned from the board, marking the retreat of two members of the company’s original founding team from corporate governance.
• Antitrust investigation underway: China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has opened a formal probe into Trip.com to assess whether the company abused its dominant market position under the country’s Anti-Monopoly Law.
• End of the founding era: The departures suggest that Trip.com is transitioning from founder-led leadership toward a structure increasingly managed by professional executives.
• Legacy of operational expansion: Min Fan helped build Trip.com’s operational systems and led major expansion of its flight, hotel, and vacation businesses during his tenure as CEO from 2006 to 2013.
• Deep ties to China’s hotel industry: Qi Ji played a key role in China’s hospitality sector, founding Home Inns and Hanting, which later became part of the hotel group now known as H World.
• Potential industry implications: Increased regulatory scrutiny of dominant online travel platforms could reshape competition dynamics and distribution strategies across China’s travel and hotel sectors.

Source: Travel Daily China

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