China begins e-commerce legislation

BEIJING - China started a two-and-a-half-year process of drafting a comprehensive e-commerce law on Friday as its e-commerce market expands at full speed.

A drafting group for the legislation was set up on Friday during a meeting by the Financial and Economic Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

"Booming e-commerce has become a growth point for national economic development and a focal point for adjusting its structure," said Lyu Zushan, head of the drafting group.

"As a result, it is in urgent need to tease out, replenish, revise and improve existing laws and regulations," he said, adding that a comprehensive law could promote sustainable and healthy development of e-commerce.

According to a preliminary timetable set at Friday's meeting, the drafting group will embark on research of the subject and submit a report by the end of 2014, and actual drafting of the law should be completed by June 2016.

The transaction value of China's e-commerce industry reached about 8 trillion yuan (about $1.32 trillion) in 2012, up 30.8 percent year on year.