A Beijing-based budget hotel chain has sued Alibaba, the Chinese internet company, for alleged unfair support of a rival, in a test case for competition practices in China’s fast-growing internet market.

Orange Hotel claims that a search this month for its name on Yahoo China, an Alibaba-owned website, produced a link to the website of Green Tree Inn, a competitor, at the top of the results list, with the words: “Instead of booking Orange Hotel, you better come to Green Tree Inn”.