China pledges to address regional protectionism, market segmentation

Head of the State Administration for Market Regulation Luo Wen gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's top market watchdog on Friday pledged further efforts to address the pressing issues of regional protectionist practices and market segmentation in 2024, aiming to develop a unified domestic market.

Luo Wen, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, made the remarks on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's national legislature.

The administration will push for the introduction of regulations on the review of fair competition, facilitate cross-regional relocation and operation of enterprises, and rectify local protectionist practices that exploit hidden barriers, Luo said.

Regarding the administration's work on standardization, the official said that China will steadily expand related aspects of institutional opening up, and support foreign-invested enterprises to participate equally in the process of formulating standards in accordance with the law.

China will also engage actively in international standardization work, he said.