On-line Trading Rules Coming in China

China's first on-line trading regulatory measures have been launched in Beijing. Regulators say all traders must register, on-line if they like.

On-line traders are required to make a record with the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce and can do so on line.

With the unprecedented development of on-line businesses, reports of illegal activities and cheating have also surged, making protecting consumer rights an urgent task for the country's industrial and commerce administrators.

Statistics from the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce indicate there are two new dotcom companies entering the market daily.

"But despite the rapid development, there has been no proper measures or government office to regulate and manage on-line trading,'' said Wang Jiping, director of the administration.

As the city with the most dotcom companies in the country, Beijing is leading the way by issuing record-making measures for on-line trading firms.

Under the new measures, every business entity that has a proper licence and a business range related to the Internet should make a record at the administration's website at http://www.hd315.com.

Any licensed business entities engaged in the following kinds of business activities should register:

-- Contract signing and trading via Internet;

-- Advertisement via the Internet;

-- Corporate image designing and promoting via the Internet;

-- Internet access providers and those providing network technique support;

-- For-profit electronic commerce.

A firm should provide the administration with its company name, licence number, IP address, registered capital, business range, server name and e-mail address.

The administration will assign a special logo to the qualified firm after it examines and verifies the information provided, usually within 48 hours. The logo will appear on the first page of a company's website.

Every qualified on-line trading company is required to use the logo on its home page so consumers and other companies can decide whether to do business with the company.

The record-making procedure complies with the country's Advertisement Law, Consumer Protection Law and Law Against Unfair Competition under which the administration is acting to protect consumer rights and to ensure equal competition, said Wang.

"In designing the logo, we met many problems,'' said a senior official who is in charge of the registration, "Every on-line firm has their unique designing style. The logo should not destroy their style.''

So three different designs are being provided for companies to choose from, and the logo can be put anywhere on a first Web page.

The record-making, which began on March 29, is free of charge, according to Wang. Existing companies have 180 days to comply with the new measures.

More than 70 companies have already made records with the administration, including popular websites such as http://www.8848.net, http://www.east.com.cn and http://www.yabuy.com.

In addition to creating a recording system, the administration is speeding up its own restructuring and on-line infrastructure to keep in step with the Internet age.

Consumers can ask questions or raise issues directly with the administration at http://www.hd315.com, Wang said.



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