With the new Guiding Opinions on Improving the Quality of Products and Services on Online Trading Platforms, China has tightened the rules for e-commerce. The document marks a shift away from purely volume-driven growth and a transition toward a quality-oriented strategy for online commerce. This results in new requirements for European brands and exporters in China’s e-commerce sector – particularly regarding the digital product passport and live shopping regulations.
The guideline introduces China’s first digital product passport – a technology-based mechanism for the seamless traceability of goods. Each product is assigned a unique digital identifier during the production process, which is verified by the platforms and displayed on the product pages. Consumers can scan the code directly to verify the product’s origin and authenticity. This system is supported by the establishment of a national early-warning platform for product quality and safety, based on big data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. In doing so, China is creating a data-driven foundation to identify risks early and increase market transparency. For European companies, this means that digital compliance requirements are rising, while at the same time offering the opportunity to gain a clear competitive advantage with high-quality and authenticated products.
Another focus of the new directive is the improvement of live commerce. Platforms and service providers must now document their product selection processes and provide mandatory quality management training for moderators. Violations of quality regulations will result in blacklisting – a step that both strengthens streamers’ accountability and enhances the industry’s credibility. The previously unregulated boom in live shopping is thus becoming a regulated and quality-oriented marketing channel. For European brands, this marks a significant turning point: collaborations in China’s livestream commerce will require careful selection of trustworthy partners and documented proof of training to avoid regulatory risks.
The new e-commerce regulations combine data-driven decision-making mechanisms with clearly defined responsibilities throughout the entire value chain. For European providers in Chinese e-commerce, this means implementing digital compliance early on, adapting quality management systems, and optimizing customer service structures locally. Quality, authenticity, and digital traceability are becoming the new currency and a key success factor in Chinese e-commerce.
China Intellectual Property Blog 