The Outlook of the Laws and Regulations of Electronic Commerce in China

Purpose: The e-commerce market in China has recently been regarded as an important distribution channel, and a variety of related studies have been conducted in the e-commerce field. However, in spite of the importance in studying the laws and regulations based on this e-commerce diffusion, research on these subjects remains insufficient. This study aims to present an outlook on the laws and regulations based on three e-commerce aspects: the consumer-to-consumer (C2C), business-to-consumer (B2C), and third-party payment platform models. Composition/Logic: This study specifically elaborates on the current status of laws and regulations corresponding to the three categories of e-commerce platforms: the C2C model, represented by Taobao; the B2C model, represented by Tmall; and the third-party payment platform, represented by Alipay. Findings: This study demonstrates the necessary legal foundations to diffuse e-commerce. Specifically, the study reveals that e-commerce enterprises primarily engage in online trading activities and have no incentives to voluntarily implement tax registration, creating a problem with e-business field consumers’ rights protection, taxation, and implementation. This study presents several measures the public can enact to build a favorable legal environment. Originality/Value: This study is a rare examination of the overall outlook of laws and regulations based on the three e-commerce aspects: the consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer, and third-party platform models. Additionally, this study is expected to play a previous study by presenting a theoretical background in the field of e-commerce laws and regulations.