The National Market Regulation Administration and the Ministry of Commerce have initiated a public consultation period for the drafted amendments to China's E-commerce Law.

The proposed amendments comprise twenty articles, focusing on five key areas: expanding the legal scope to clarify the rights and obligations of all participants in the platform economy beyond just platforms and their internal merchants; enhancing platform accountability by introducing more regulatory tools to support routine oversight alongside existing fixed fines and operational suspensions; establishing a coordinated regulatory mechanism that ensures consistent online and offline business management and strengthens inter-departmental and central-local collaboration to address the cross-sector nature of platform operations; regulating prominent illegal activities in e-commerce by amending relevant clauses to address pressing public concerns; and deepening international cooperation in e-commerce by aligning domestic rules, regulations, management, and standards with international practices, bolstering industry self-discipline, guiding orderly overseas expansion, and adding countermeasures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises.

The next step involves refining the draft amendments based on public feedback, with the aim of expediting the revision and enactment of the E-commerce Law to establish a solid legal foundation for the innovation and healthy development of the platform economy.