CHINA UNIFORMLAW NET

E-commerce in the international eye

China Daily
Date: 12/26/1999
Page: 5
Author:

"China's E-commerce Theory and Practice Viewed from Global Perspective," a book written by Edward Zeng, CEO and founder of the Sparkice Co, will be published by the China Economic Press. Zeng, an IT policy adviser to the government and a guest researcher at several State commissions and ministries, talks about the country's e-commerce framework, which the government has yet to finally announce. The following are some excerpts from the book.

How will China promote its electronic commerce development? This has been a question pondered by government functions as well as enterprises.

On June 8, 1999, Sparkice sponsored a symposium on "China's E-commerce Framework" which drew more than 40 experts and officials from the State Development Planning Commission, the State Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

As many companies in the country's information industry have already practiced e-commerce operations, the governmental departments headed by the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) is beefing up efforts to work out a framework to ensure "orderly and sound expansion" of the digital economy, according to participants at the gathering.

Development of e-commerce is considered an indispensably important measure to strengthen national economic growth, they said.

However, China's e-commerce is still in an embryonic and exploratory stage.

A colossal systematic project, e-commerce entails the high-level development of relevant laws, policies, technical standards and advanced entrepreneurial abilities, government officials said.

The government had decided to guide e-commerce to a standard and steady track from the very beginning stage of its development.

The current infrastructure promoting e-commerce in China varies in different regions; however, it is improving.

The EU and the United States kicked off their e-commerce frameworks in April and July 1997.

China began to draft its e-commerce framework roughly in October 1998, with participants including the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, the State Economic and Trade Commission, the Bank of China and General Administration of the Customs, in addition to the initiator MII.

A draft of the framework has now been finished, and the document is under further deliberation.

Since e-commerce is expanding, government departments should enhance co-operation and exchange to "draft strict standards and create necessary conditions to ensure the orderly and sound growth of e-commerce."

Although China will blaze its own trail in developing e-commerce, which will fully utilize existing network facilities, and accord with the overall development strategy of the information industry, the country shall also strengthen inter-governmental exchanges and collaborations with international organizations to revise and improve its development framework.

Apropos to the principles regarding e-commerce development in China, the government will encourage enterprises to actively participate in e-commerce applications, and will require them to exercise self-discipline in developing e-commerce legally.

The government will first highlight the development of some e-commerce pilot projects in priority areas and key enterprises.

To cater to the needs of e-commerce development, the country will step up legislation, meanwhile making necessary revisions to relevant laws and regulations now in use.