Aerial view of vehicles being driven on the road through the central business district in Beijing, China.
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China proposed rules for internet platform pricing on Saturday, seeking public comment after a raft of complaints by merchants and consumers of unfair or misleading pricing by big platforms.
The draft rules for platforms selling goods or services are meant to encourage price transparency and fairness, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement.
Those operating on such platforms shall “agree on and change prices through standardised means such as contracts and orders,” the commission said.
The rules require platform operators and merchants to “adhere to clear pricing regulations, increase the transparency of pricing rules and promptly disclose fee changes to better accept public oversight”, it said.
Merchants have accused the mega platforms of unfairly manipulating prices to bump up sales, while consumers have complained of misleading pricing.
In 2021 Alibaba was fined a record $2.75 billion for anti-monopoly violations, a decision the firm said it accepted, while e-commerce leaders this year have brushed off regulatory risk as they fight price wars in “instant retail”, where delivery can be as quick as half an hour.
The rules will be open for public comment for a month.