China launches campaign to eliminate market access barriers

Three Chinese departments, the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, and State Administration for Market Regulation, announced on Tuesday the launch of a campaign to eliminate market access barriers, in order to promote the development of a national unified market.

According to the announcement, the initiative will comprehensively eliminate  unreasonable regulations and practices that improperly establish market access barriers, publicize typical violation cases, establish and improve long-term mechanisms including clue collection, verification and rectification procedures, and case disclosure, in order to foster a fair market access environment, and support the development of a unified national market.

The initiative focuses on addressing regulatory documents, including local regulations, rules, administrative normative documents, and other policy papers, that violate market access system requirements, as well as local government practices that illegally impose market access barriers.

The campaign targets 15 types of violations, including cases where national-level restrictions have been lifted but local authorities continue requiring approvals, setting market access restrictions for enterprises from other regions as well as unlawfully imposing access restrictions on foreign-invested enterprises, according to the announcement.

The campaign will promote the clean-up of local regulations, rules, and administrative normative documents. Provincial-level development and reform units, in collaboration with commerce and market regulation departments, will comprehensively review documents related to market access-related regulations. Provisions that illegally add market access requirements, expand the scope of market access, or similar violations must be uniformly corrected. Market access regulations established without legal basis or proper statutory procedures must be fully abolished, according to the announcement.