Given the size and complexity of the Chinese ecommerce market, foreign companies often struggle to root out operations selling unlicensed or counterfeit versions of their products. The US-China Business Council (USCBC) consulted member companies to identify and create recommendations for the spate of new challenges to intellectual property (IP) protection in the ecommerce space, including:

Providing a small amount of stability in a year of significant changes for cross-border ecommerce, the Chinese government recently halted a move to increase regulation — and costs — of foreign goods purchased online by consumers in China. Observers believe the measure is a temporary stopgap as officials work to establish additional procedures for scrutinizing yet unspecified types of imports.

China Central Television (CCTV) is preparing to host its annual 315 Evening Gala in recognition of World Consume

China’s new draft ecommerce law

On January 13, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a circular notice completely removing the foreign equity cap for investment in e-commerce companies in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (Shanghai FTZ). The notice allows foreign-invested enterprises to control 100 percent stakes in such companies.