The China Consumers Association (CCA) announced on Tuesday that it will establish consumers' rights protection channels on 17 e-commerce platforms, so that consumers can make formal complaints and have an easier time asserting their rights.

The announcement came on March 15, World Consumer Rights Day. CCA said it aims to provide better service to those consumers shopping online, Beijing Times reported.

According to CCA, the 17 platforms are industry leaders with high market share and mature customer service systems, including e-commerce giants JD.com and Taobao.

With the new channels in place, consumers can file a complaint with their local CCA branch via one of the 17 platforms. Then the association will transfer the complaint to the appropriate platform.

The announcement came at a time when consumer disputes, especially those related to e-commerce, are on the rise. Statistics released by CCA shows that it received more than 20,000 complaints from across the country in 2015. Of those, 95.41 percent of them, or 19,162 individual cases, were related to online shopping. That number has also continued to grow.

The State Administration of Industry & Commerce is soliciting public opinions on a policy that would allow consumers to return items within seven days of purchase without any stated reason.

“The document is expected to clarify certain concepts that are vague to many business owners and local administrations,” said Yang Hongcan, head of the Consumer Protection Bureau.

In addition, the department will also extend its hotline to e-commerce platforms and employ dedicated complaint agents in e-commerce companies.