Consumer Protection in Transition
A Study of China’s Emerging Implementation Framework
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14296/ac.v7i2.5879Abstract
This article explores consumer protection issues in today’s China, focusing on the evolving regulatory framework for safeguarding consumer rights. It emphasizes the 2024 Implementing Regulations for the Consumer Protection Law and highlights China’s changing consumer welfare framework in its transition from a planned economy to a consumer-centric market economy, with rising rights awareness and the growth of e-commerce. Despite the 2013 amendments to the law, various challenges have persisted, including false advertising affecting elderly people, online gaming risks for youth, and strategic claims by so-called “professional consumers”. Other problems include price discrimination enabled by big data, excessive data collection, live-stream commerce, and uneven enforcement. The 2024 Implementing Regulations introduce clearer enforcement mechanisms, enhanced digital protections, stricter limits on professional consumers, and improved dispute resolution. The article evaluates these reforms in protecting consumers and regulating businesses, while reflecting on the continued importance of state control and the influence of socialist values.
Keywords: consumer protection; implementing regulations; professional consumers.
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