China’s Online Retail Market in an Era of Technological Innovations

Abstract

The immense scope of global e-commerce sales, expected to reach USD 4.48 trillion by 2021, is growing much faster than e-commerce and online retail legislation. In China, where the number of online shoppers is expected to reach 798.8 million by 2020 of which almost 42% use mobile devices for payment, lawmakers have been overhauling internet law, and its efforts reveal innovative methods and criteria deserve closer observation. The article will focus on the analysis of e-commerce from three legal aspects: contracts, consumer protection and unfair competition. This area holds vast practical relevance, especially in a world constantly shifting from traditional transaction and shopping methods towards internet-based technology and online transactions. Hence, the importance of legal recourse that is able to rapidly adapt to the technological developments introduced by e-commerce. The article’s findings indicate that specific regulation of e-commerce activities is vital in the virtual world, where conventional concepts of law and the laws themselves can be difficult to apply. From the analysis of the new PRC E-Commerce Law, it appears to be well-balanced in its goals by providing improved protection to all online trading parties and ensuring the safe development of China’s online economy. However, it still raises some questions that require of further debate and lobbying, as will be presented in the article itself.