Consumer-led growth demands better rights protection

Concerted effort a must

Despite improved laws and growing consumer awareness of their rights, there is still a long way to go to consistently right the wrongs of dishonest market players.

"On one hand, ordinary consumers face a time-consuming, expensive and arduous litigation process when they choose to sue sellers," said Li Yuanguang, vice chairman of the China Consumers' Association, stressing that lawmakers must come up with more practical rules to make the new consumer rights law more consumer-friendly.

"On the other hand, there are people cynically cashing in on the new law by demanding exorbitant compensation from sellers."

Li said supportive policies related to the new law should also be put in place as soon as possible, citing protection of personal information and accountability of online platforms.

"The rising number of litigation cases actually reveals a business environment that does not value integrity," said Hao Qingfeng, a senior consumer rights law researcher.

Hao suggested that there should be "a more rigid corporate integrity supervision mechanism in place to enhance enterprises' sense of discipline".

"This is not just a matter between enterprises and consumers. We must see joint efforts from all supervisors such as industrial and commercial regulators, quality watchdogs and the media," he added.