China towards the regulation of e-commerce

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the legislative process that China is undergoing in order to approve a comprehensive “E-commerce Law” as soon as possible. This thesis first looks at the background of this legislation: why is an “E-commerce Law” so urgent in China? Three main drivers have pushed for this law: first of all, the need to further encourage, support and promote an important driver of China’s current economic and social development; second, the necessity to solve problems and conflicts that contribute to market disorder; thirdly, the lack of an authoritative and comprehensive legislation, that focuses on the safeguard of consumers and business operators’ rights. Then, the thesis presents the current regulatory environment related to e-commerce in China, in order to understand the flaws to be corrected and improved, with special regard to the protection of consumers’ rights, business operators’ rights and liabilities of third-party platforms. Finally, the focus is on the legislative process that China has undertook in order to gradually improve its legislation related to e-commerce, the steps to publish the “First Draft E-commerce Law” and what has been further improved with the “Second Draft E-commerce Law”.