Consumer protection law in the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Protecting Consumers’ Rights and Interests (CPL), adopted on 31 October 1993, deals at length with the civil liability of businesspersons. However, consumer protection is understood in China as essentially the responsibility of the state, to be implemented by public authorities, and even consumer associations which are governed nominally by the CPL are subject to administrative oversight. These and other peculiarities of China’s CPL resulting from unique aspects of China’s state organization and political system will be examined in this article. China’s CPL aspires to comprehensively regulate consumer protection. Nevertheless, the liability of businesspersons is subject to primary laws and numerous special laws for certain products. This article is intended to provide guidance for those applying the law. The article thus focuses first on the definition of the term‚ ‘consumer’ as well as rights and obligations within the area of applicability of the CPL. Thereafter it discusses in particular the civil liability of businesspersons, the state‘s consumer protection mandate, the role of consumer associations, dispute resolution options as well as special procedural features of the Chinese CPL. Thereby the article concentrates on the question, if the current legal framework of the CPL and the consumer protection standards of other laws provide an adequate protection for consumers in China. This article also deals with the important question of implementing the legal framework into practise and explains the realization of consumer rights through administrative protection by consumer associations as well as individual consumers. Finally, the author also looks ahead to upcoming reforms by the National People’s Government in China. Particularly the introduction of public interest litigation and the regulation on the enforceability of arbitration agreements will be presented, as well as their potential impact on consumers, businesspersons and consumer associations.