A lawmaker from south China's Guangdong Province has called for a national "e-commerce law" to regulate online businesses and reduce trade disputes, the provincial newspaper "Nanfang Daily" reports.
Xu Long, who is also the general manager of China Mobile's Guangdong branch, said China's e-commerce development was still in its initial stage and faced many problems that hindered it from progress, such as a lack of unified standards, adequate security measures and credibility.
The value of the country's online business transactions surpassed 3.5 trillion yuan (US$512.6 billion) last year and was 48.5 percent higher than the year before, according to figures from the Commerce Ministry.
Despite the sector's rapid expansion, related legislation has lagged behind. Only a few big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have enacted related regulations, but the codes only cover basic issues while ignoring sensitive ones such as taxation.
China is now in urgent need of a national e-commerce law to foster the healthy development of the emerging industry, Xu said, adding that such a law also could promote the adjustment of the industry's restructuring.