The draft amendments were published by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) in collaboration with relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. The document will be open for public comment until August 4.
Beijing Is Establishing Unified Oversight of Trade
According to Bloomberg, authorities want to gain more tools to regulate digital businesses. In addition to fines, regulators will be able to impose new sanctions on companies that violate the rules. At the same time, Beijing intends to establish unified oversight of all platforms, regardless of whether they operate solely online or combine online and offline models.
According to regulators, the current law is no longer keeping pace with the development of the digital economy. The new amendments are intended to clearly define the rights and obligations of market participants, eliminate legal loopholes, and make the rules more transparent for businesses.
Special attention is being paid to Chinese companies entering foreign markets. The authorities promise to support their international expansion, foster cooperation, and align Chinese regulations with global e-commerce standards.
This is the latest step in a campaign to tighten control over the technology sector. In recent years, China has introduced strict data protection rules, strengthened antitrust regulations, and tightened requirements for major internet platforms.
China’s e-commerce market has exceeded $2 trillion
It should be noted that the current e-commerce law took effect in 2019. Since then, China’s e-commerce market has become the largest in the world. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the volume of online retail trade in 2025 exceeded 16 trillion yuan (about $2.3 trillion).
China has remained the world’s largest e-commerce market for 12 consecutive years. Total retail sales in the country exceeded 50.12 trillion yuan ($7 trillion) in 2025. Of this amount, about 30% came from online commerce.
Meanwhile, a broader measure of transactions within the e-commerce ecosystem—which includes not only online retail sales but also the B2B segment—reached 46.7 trillion yuan ($6.8 trillion). Growth stood at 2.5% in 2025.
Today, 70 million people are employed in China’s e-commerce sector and related digital platforms. Over the past five years, employment in the sector has grown by nearly 47 million jobs.
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