Premier urges inclusive, prudent regulatory approach toward new businesses

2017-07-18
english.gov.cn/Guangming Online

Premier Li Keqiang visits a shop involved in online business in Qingyanliu village, Yiwu, East China’s Zhejiang province, Nov 19, 2014.

Premier Li Keqiang required related departments to solicit public opinions on the draft regulation for express delivery, a decision made at the State Council executive meeting on July 12.

“When it emerged a few years ago, express delivery was opposed by some cities because it went against the cities’ images. But we believe that any new things should be regulated with an inclusive and prudent approach,” Premier Li said.

Prudence and inclusiveness cannot be overemphasized. In a keynote speech at the 2017 Summer Davos Forum in June, Premier Li said the government has adopted an accommodating and prudent regulatory approach toward new industries and business models such as e-commerce, mobile payment and bike-sharing, which have enabled their healthy development.

At the State Council executive meeting on June 21, citing WeChat (a Chinese social media platform) as an example, Premier Li said it could not have achieved such success if the government kept the old-fashioned way of regulation.

Many problems were exposed in the initial stage of the express delivery sector, such as brutal methods of sorting, protests against motorbike riders, and vicious and disordered competition, which were troubling consumers and society.

On July 11, the State Post Bureau said 17.4 billion deliveries were made during the first half of 2017, up 31.3 percent from a year ago, and more than 218.6 billion yuan in revenue was generated, up 27.5 percent year-on-year.

It is evident that a prudent and inclusive regulatory approach enabled express delivery to enter society, and the government will take it as a major attitude toward new industries and business models and to conventional urban management.