Shanghai outlines measures for fairer, more open market

Shanghai has unveiled a five-year plan for modernizing market regulation, covering 2026-30, with measures to align local rules with international standards, safeguard fair competition, streamline business services, and enhance consumer protection.

By 2030, Shanghai aims to achieve a consumer satisfaction score of at least 84 and lead the development or revision of 145 international standards during the 2026-30 period.

Advancing institutional opening-up

Shanghai will align its rules on digital identity authentication with those set out in the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and pilot cross-border digital identity authentication applications.

The city will support participation in the development and revision of international standards in competitive and emerging industries and further develop its standardization cooperation platform for foreign-invested enterprises.

It will also support Pudong New Area in attracting international professional standards organizations and their branches, promote global cooperation and exchanges on standards, and strengthen international exchanges and mutual recognition in green and low-carbon standards, metrology, testing, and certification.

Ensuring fair competition and equal protection

Shanghai will provide equal protection of intellectual property rights for domestic and foreign-invested enterprises and improve coordination between administrative and judicial enforcement. It will explore ways to protect these rights in emerging fields, including artificial intelligence.

The city will remove barriers involving access to production factors, qualification recognition, tendering, bidding, and government procurement.

Guidance will be strengthened on cross-border antitrust issues, the protection of trade secrets abroad, and compliance with cross-border merger and acquisition and overseas investment requirements.

Shanghai will also strengthen oversight of platform rules, online traffic allocation, and algorithms, while applying consistent quality and regulatory standards to online and offline products and services.

Improving business services and regulation

Shanghai will further streamline market entry and operating permit procedures, upgrade its online business registration platform, and use AI to improve government services.

Eligible companies will receive quicker access to policy benefits, including support that doesn't require a separate application.

The city will expand joint inspections and the use of its inspection code system, make greater use of lists for non-intrusive and contactless supervision, and develop more off-site supervision scenarios.

It will also cultivate more pilot parks and organizations for trade secret protection.

Improving the consumption environment

Shanghai will develop more consumer-friendly malls, online shops, restaurants, commercial areas, and tourist attractions. More than 10,000 businesses will be encouraged to offer no-questions-asked returns for offline purchases. At least 50 headquarters-based companies will support returns and exchanges at different outlets and cities.

In districts with a high concentration of e-commerce platforms, online consumer rights service stations and intelligent complaint-handling platforms will be established.

Shanghai will also promote first-contact complaint handling and advance compensation mechanisms, explore defective-product recalls in cross-border and livestream e-commerce, protect consumers' personal information, and target consumer fraud, price fraud, and false or misleading commercial publicity.

Developing high-end professional services

Shanghai will develop internationally influential inspection and testing institutions and establish national and municipal-level quality inspection centers for emerging industries. Priority projects include a testing service platform for brain-computer interface medical devices, an advanced technology testing platform for pharmaceuticals, and a smart pharmaceutical inspection demonstration laboratory using AI and robotics.

The city will advance pilot programs for carbon footprint labeling and product certification, and improve testing and certification technologies for green products, while strengthening international cooperation on green standards, metrology, testing, and certification.

It will support testing and certification institutions in obtaining recognition from international technical organizations and overseas accreditation bodies.

Shanghai will also develop an international digital advertising hub, attract global advertising resources, promote the use of AI in advertising, and develop high-level platforms such as the Shanghai International Advertising Festival.

Source: Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation