China is the world's largest market for e-commerce. Domestic e-commerce firms have the greatest share of China's market, with foreign companies having a comparatively small presence. The expansion of e-commerce in China has resulted in particular e-commerce patterns like the development of Taobao villages and livestreaming e-commerce.
E-commerce in China is regulated through a variety of means, particularly China's 2018 E-Commerce Law.
Since 2013, China is the world's largest e-commerce market.[1]: 99 Its domestic e-commerce market was an estimated US$899 billion in 2016.[2] China accounted for 42.4% of worldwide retail e-commerce in that year, the most of any country.[3]: 110
Domestic companies like Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo have the largest share of China's e-commerce market.[1]: 99 Foreign companies like Amazon and EBay have not gained significant shares in the market.[1]: 99
The expansion of e-commerce in China has resulted in the development of Taobao villages, clusters of e-commerce businesses operating in rural areas.[3]: 112 Because Taobao villages have increased the incomes or rural people and entrepreneurship in rural China, Taobao villages have become a component of rural revitalization strategies.[4]: 278
Livestreaming e-commerce in China was initiated by fashion e-commerce platform Mogujie in 2016.[5] In the same year, it was picked up and gradually made popular by Alibaba, who turned live commerce into a fixture in its annual Singles' Day shopping festivals.[6]
In 2015, the State Council promoted the Internet Plus initiative, a five-year plan to integrate traditional manufacturing and service industries with big data, cloud computing, and Internet of things technology.[1]: 44 The State Council provided support for Internet Plus through policy support in area including cross-border e-commerce and rural e-commerce.[1]: 44
In 2004, China passed an Electronic Signature law which was based largely on the United Nations model.[1]: 99 The law encouraged the use of electronic signatures in e-commerce.[1]: 99
China passed its E-Commerce Law in 2018 following five years of significant debate among numerous stakeholders.[1]: 99 Chinese policymakers encouraged wide participation in the legislative process, including seeking input from a wide variety of non-state actors including private tech businesses.[1]: 99 The E-Commerce Law, along with other regulatory provisions relevant to e-commerce, is part of the broader mandate of the State Administration for Market Regulation.[1]: 114
The E-Commerce Law, along with the Consumer Protection Law, require e-commerce platforms to take proper action if they are aware or should be aware of fraudulent online behavior by merchants, including the sales of fraudulent goods.[1]: 207 If merchants are found to have sold counterfeit goods, the Consumer Protection Law imposes a penalty of three times their value to compensate consumers.[1]: 207 If platforms have prior knowledge of counterfeit goods being sold, then the E-Commerce Law makes them jointly liable with merchants engaged in sale of such goods.[1]: 231 These risks also prompted platforms to take a stricter view towards shanzhai products.[1]: 231
In 2019, the city of Hangzhou established a pilot program artificial intelligence-based Internet Court to adjudicate disputes related to e-commerce and internet-related intellectual property claims.[7]: 124
China prohibits the practice of review brushing, which is regarded under e-commerce laws and regulations as a form of false advertising.[1]: 197
