Jiang Shan, deputy director general of the Second Bureau of Legislation of the Ministry of Justice, attends a press conference in Beijing on Sept. 6, 2024. [Photo by Xu Xiang/China SCIO]

China will advance legislation on business, financial, trade, and energy sectors to promote high-quality economic development, said Jiang Shan, deputy director general of the Second Bureau of Legislation of the Ministry of Justice, at a press conference on Friday. 

Efforts are being made to build a unified national market and improve the business environment. The Ministry of Justice has collaborated with relevant departments to accelerate the revision of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law to foster a better institutional environment for fair competition. In addition, the legal framework for the settlement of overdue payments to enterprises will be improved, including the revision of the Regulations on Ensuring Payments to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, according to Jiang. 

In a bid to prevent and defuse financial risks, the ministry has accelerated the revision of laws and regulations in the financial sector including the Banking Supervision Law of China. New regulations will be introduced to standardize the services provided by intermediary institutions in public stock issuance, aiming to improve the quality of listed companies and protect investors' rights. The ministry is also involved in drafting a new financial law.

In the energy field, the ministry has drafted the Energy Law and revised the Mineral Resources Law, in a bid to promote independent operations in monopoly sectors and advance market reforms in competitive areas. All these measures will deepen energy management institutional reform and enhance the resilience and security of supply chains. 

The ministry is working with other departments to revise the Foreign Trade Law and the Customs Law, which will align with international high-standard economic and trade rules. Jiang said these revisions will help develop new institutions for a higher-standard open economy and create systems for building China into a strong nation in trade.