China's Legal Transformation: New E-Commerce Law offers consumers more protection

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China's newest e-commerce law aims to provide more protection for consumers and bring efficient regulation to the sector. But the legislation process took years of repeated discussions and preparation. CGTN's Wu Lei talks with a National People's Congress deputy who assesses where things stand now.

With online shopping now a part of most people's lives, concerns remain over a number of issues.

LIU KUN CHINESE CONSUMER "Sometimes I was deceived by the pictures online because the goods I received looked quite different from what I thought I was buying. I couldn't accept it."

LI RONGZHENG CHINESE CONSUMER "I had some quality control issues when I did online shopping. Some sellers aren't fast responding and the return and exchange process took a long time."

To address these matters, NPC deputy Wang Tian, along with other deputies, submitted a proposal to the NPC at the Two Sessions of 2013. The proposal called for tighter regulations in the E-commerce sector. In December of that year, the standing committee of the National People's Congress officially launched legislation of E-commerce law.

WANG TIAN, CHAIRMAN OF BUBUGAO GROUP "In 2019, China's E-commerce market is expected to top $1 trillion US dollars. We hope both the online and offline sectors can be supervised fairly.

In August, after four reviews in five years, China's top legislators passed the long waited e-commerce law. Wang says the most difficult part in drafting a law is seeking common ground among different parties.

WANG TIAN, CHAIRMAN OF BUBUGAO GROUP "We've been debating for years. One of the major differences was on the detailed responsibility of online platforms. Now this new law has clearly stated the online platform must shoulder joint liability in counterfeit and IP cases."

Now both counterfeiters and online operators who violate certain intellectual property rights can be fined up to 2 million Yuan, that's nearly 3 hundred thousand USD. E-commerce giant Suning Group says the whole industry will benefit from the new regulations.

WANG LEI, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS SUNING COMMERCE GROUP CO., LTD "As an E-commerce operator, we have a responsibility and willingness to regulate and clean the online business environment. We will fight illegal behaviors and provide more quality goods and services to customers."

WU LEI SHANGHAI "New technologies like 5G and Artificial intelligence are reshaping the online and retail sectors. Chinese lawmakers are expected to continue to revise and adjust this new law, to better boost fair competition and protect consumers' rights. WL, CGTN, SH."