Opinion: Leveling the Playing Field for China’s Digital Economy

Beijing is once again turning its regulatory gaze toward China’s sprawling platform economy, this time with new draft guidelines from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) aimed squarely at how these digital giants charge their merchants. The Guidelines for Compliance in Fee-Charging by Online Trading Platforms, currently open for public comment, explicitly seek to “regulate and guide” fee practices, “safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of operators,” and ultimately “promote the sustained and healthy development of the platform economy.”