A view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai Photo: VCG

 

China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), on Tuesday released a guideline for building a unified national market, setting clear prohibitions against practices such as local protectionism or putting up regional barriers.

The move is part of the nation's efforts to implement the key tasks outlined at the tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2024, which emphasized the importance of formulating a guideline for building a unified national market, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The guideline encourages all localities and government departments to accelerate their integration into the unified national market and actively support its development, the NDRC said.

The guideline outlines key measures, including unifying the underlying institutions and rules of the market, improving the high-standard market infrastructure connectivity, building a unified market for factors and resources, advancing the high-standard integration of goods and services markets, enhancing fair and unified regulations, and curbing unfair market competition and improper intervention, Xinhua reported.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Wang Shancheng, director of the Comprehensive Reform Department of the NDRC, stated that the current global situation is rapidly evolving, and China has entered a period where strategic opportunities coexist with risks and challenges, and where uncertainties are increasing, referring to the backdrop of the launch of the guideline.

Wang said that "building an efficient, standardized, and fair competitive unified national market is beneficial for promoting the smooth flow and efficient allocation of resources across a wider range." It helps lower market transaction costs, create a favorable market environment for technological innovation and business development, and strengthen competitive advantages, the NDRC official said.

"It is also conducive to creating and leading demand with high-quality supply, consolidating and improving consumer welfare levels," Wang said.

The guideline prohibits certain actions, clarifying that those who violate these rules will bear corresponding responsibilities. The guideline sets clear prohibitions against practices such as implementing local protectionism or regional barriers, hindering the equal entry and exit of market entities, and affecting fair and just bidding and government procurement processes.

For example, local governments are prohibited from unlawfully restricting or designating specific patents, trademarks, brands, components, origins or suppliers in bidding and government procurement processes.

The establishment of a unified national market is directly related to promoting fair competition and creating a better market environment, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Li noted that such efforts aimed at preventing fragmentation are conducive to ensuring the smooth operation of the market economy and reducing transaction costs.

The release of the guideline indicates that the construction of a unified national market will be a key focus of economic system reform in 2025, and the resulting policy dividends are highly anticipated, Wu Chaoming, chief economist of Hunan Chasing Financial Holdings Co, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Wu said that accelerating the establishment of a national unified market will help expand domestic demand, stimulate market vitality and create favorable conditions for unleashing consumption potential.

"Building a national unified market aims to eliminate local protectionism and market fragmentation, addressing critical bottlenecks in economic circulation... This will promote full competition, reduce transaction costs and significantly enhance the efficiency of resource allocation," Wu said.

The unified national market is not a closed and isolated market but an open one aimed at the global stage, an official with the Ministry of Commerce said at the press conference on Tuesday.

More efforts will be made in areas, including further reducing the negative list for foreign investment access, the official said.

Building a standardized and unified market is expected to play a positive role in attracting foreign investment and improving expectations among foreign investors, Li added.