Prof. Xue Interviewed by APEC PSU on the E-Commerce Law
The “E-commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China”, effective from January 1, 2019, has played an important role in the transformation of economic mode, structural reform, stable growth, employment expansion, and people’s well-being. The Law regulates the establishment and performance of e-commerce operators, electronic contracts, electronic payments and express logistics, strengthens the protection of IPRs and consumers in e-commerce, creates the new legal rules on third-party e-commerce platforms, data development, market competition and dispute settlement. The Law has been nominated by the MOFCOM to the APEC PSU for case studies.
The selected case studies can help to showcase the underlying motivations for revising existing regulations or introducing new regulations, the process of doing so, as well as how the revision/introduction has contributed to the e-commerce landscape in the economy. In order to seek the understanding of the E-Commerce Law and allow for optimum experience sharing and learning among economies, the APEC PSU interviewed Prof. Xue, who had taken apart in the whole lawmaking process as one of the chief legal experts appointed by the National People’s Congress. The Interview was conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams on August 12, 2020.
During the Interview, Prof. Xue explained the situation before the enactment of the E-Commerce Law, the reasons/motivations for the decision to enact the E-Commerce Law and the problem that the E-Commerce Law was designed to address. Prof. Xue elaborated the legislative process of enacting the E-Commerce Law and internationalized multi-stakeholder participation in the lawmaking process. Prof. Xue especially addressed the benefits brought by the Law to various stakeholders (e.g., businesses, consumers) and effectiveness of the Law. With the advancement of the new technologies like AI, blockchain and digital currencies and enactment of new laws (such as the Civil Code), the E-Commerce Law may be revised for improvement in the future. Prof. Xue emphasized that the Case Studies would facilitate the information exchange on best practices, capacity building and inter-economy comparative studies for common rules on e-commerce.