The State Council executive meeting on Nov 23 passed a draft law on curbing unfair competition in the marketplace, with clear definitions of such illegal activities. The draft will provide a legal basis for protecting businesses and consumer rights and building a fair market environment, experts said.

According to Wang Jiangping, deputy director of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), the move is aimed at promoting fair competition, which will allow the market to play a determining role in resource allocation based on market rules, in an effort to resolve the currently imbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development.

The draft also puts more emphasis on anti-commercial bribery, protecting trade secrets and e-governance, while stepping up punitive efforts against unfair competition through credit and administrative discipline.

As e-commerce becomes ever more popular, it’s drawing fierce competition on an international scale. So a proper governance of the cyber business market should be the key to embracing international cooperation, according to Nie Dong, an expert from the Alibaba Research Institute.

In addition, Huang Yong, a professor from the University of International Business and Economics, said the number of lawyers who focus on anti-monopoly law has seen an increasing growth, which indicates the number of anti-monopoly cases have also surged in recent years.

As of June 30 this year, industry and commerce authorities across the nation have investigated a total of 596 cases of unfair competition, among which 118 were closed, with 27.38 million yuan being confiscated.