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In this issue:

• China’s E-Commerce Legislative Framework
• Setting Up an Online Shop in China

China’s online market is highly developed and has become too big for international businesses to ignore. Given the growing importance and huge potential of the country’s online retail industry, foreign investors are keen to tap into this lucrative market, which could also prove to be a useful channel for foreign SMEs intending to sell their products in China.

Online vendors in China have operated in a fairly unregulated environment over the past few years. While this has greatly encouraged entrepreneurship and contributed to the development of the industry within China, it has also given rise to rampant online intellectual property infringements and online fraud.

To ensure that the country’s e-commerce industry continues to develop in an orderly manner, the Chinese government has stepped up its efforts to enact a comprehensive legislative framework while carrying out stricter enforcement measures. In fact, according to the China Daily, regulators inspected over 29,000 e-commerce websites and deleted over 7.14 million illegally-listed items in 2012 alone. This type of action has helped instill a certain amount of confidence in foreign investors who wish to sell their products and services online to the Chinese market.

In this issue of China Briefing Magazine, we cover the current laws pertinent to the e-commerce industry in China, as well as introduce the steps involved in setting up an online shop in the country in order to help provide foreign investors with an overview of the e-commerce landscape in China.