China's market regulator and commerce ministry have jointly released a draft revision of the nation's E-commerce Law for public consultation.

The draft aims to implement policy directives concerning the platform economy, safeguard the legitimate rights of all e-commerce participants, regulate the conduct of platform operators, and foster the sector's sustained and healthy development.

The proposed revision, comprising twenty articles, focuses on five key areas.

Firstly, it seeks to broaden the law's scope. Beyond current platforms and merchants operating on them, it will further clarify the rights and obligations of other participants in the platform economy.

Secondly, it aims to enhance platform accountability systems. Building upon existing fixed-amount fines and orders for business suspension, the draft introduces more regulatory tools to support ongoing oversight.

Thirdly, it establishes a collaborative regulatory mechanism. To address the cross-sector and hybrid nature of platform businesses, it adds the principle of consistent online and offline business oversight. This strengthens integrated supervision through inter-departmental coordination and cooperation between central and local authorities.

Fourthly, it targets prominent illegal activities in e-commerce. The draft modifies and refines relevant clauses to address issues of significant public concern identified in practice.

Fifthly, it seeks to deepen international e-commerce cooperation. The revision promotes alignment of e-commerce rules, regulations, management, and standards with international norms, encourages industry self-discipline, guides orderly global expansion, and introduces countermeasures to protect domestic companies' legitimate rights abroad.

Following the public consultation period, the authorities will refine the draft based on feedback and work towards its prompt enactment, aiming to establish a stronger legal foundation for innovation and healthy growth in the platform economy.