Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
This Law is enacted to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of e-commerce participants, regulate e-commerce, maintain market order, and promote sustainable and sound e-commerce development.
Article 2
This Law applies to e-commerce within the territory of the People's Republic of China.
For the purposes of this Law, "e-commerce" means business activities of selling goods or providing services through the internet or any other information network.
Where any other law or administrative regulation provides otherwise for the sale of goods or provision of services, such other laws or administrative regulations shall apply. This Law shall not apply to financial products and services and content services provided via information networks, such as news information, audio-video programs, publications, and cultural products.
Article 3
The State encourages the development of new forms of e-commerce and the creation of new models of commerce, promote the research, development and application of e-commerce technology, facilitate e-commerce credibility building, foster a market environment favorable for e-commerce innovation and development, and ensure that e-commerce plays an important role in promoting high-quality development, meeting the people's ever-growing needs for a better life, and developing an open economy.
Article 4
The State shall provide equal treatment to online and offline commerce and stimulate their integration. The people's governments and relevant departments at all levels may neither implement discriminatory policies or measures nor abuse their administrative power to exclude or restrict market competition.
Article 5
E-commerce operators shall follow the principles of free will, equality, fairness, and good faith in their business operations, observe the law and follow business ethics, fairly participate in market competition, perform obligations in areas including protection of consumer rights and interests, the environment, intellectual property rights, cybersecurity and personal information, assume responsibility for the quality of products or services, and be subject to government and public oversight.
Article 6
The relevant departments of the State Council shall, according to their respective powers and duties, be responsible for the development, supervision and regulation of e-commerce. Local people's governments at or above the county level may, based on the actual situations, determine the division of powers and duties among their departments in respect of e-commerce in their respective administrative regions.
Article 7
The State shall establish a coordinative administration system adaptive to the characteristics of e-commerce and promote the formation of an e-commerce market governance system in which competent authorities, e-commerce industry associations, e-commerce operators and consumers, etc., jointly participate.
Article 8
E-commerce industry associations shall, pursuant to their bylaws, exercise self-discipline, establish and improve industry standards, promote credibility building of the industry , and oversee and guide business operators in their industry to fairly participate in market competition.
Chapter II E-Commerce Operators
Section 1 General Rules
Article 9
For the purposes of this Law, "e-commerce operators" means natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organizations that engage in business activities of selling goods or providing services through the internet or other information networks, including e-commerce platform operators, on-platform business operators, and e-commerce operators that sell goods or provide services through self-owned websites or other network services.
"E-commerce platform operators" means legal persons or unincorporated organizations which, in e-commerce, provide two or more parties to a transaction with services, such as online business premises, deal-making, and information releasing, for the parties to independently engage in transactional activities.
"On-platform business operators" means e-commerce business operators which sell goods or provide services on an e-commerce platform.