Chinese courts working harder to protect consumers online

Chinese courts have stepped up efforts to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers in cyberspace after seeing a rapid growth of disputes in recent years, China's top court said.

Statistics released by the Supreme People's Court on Wednesday showed that over the past five years, courts nationwide concluded some 99,000 cases concerning online purchase contracts and about 23,000 cases involving online service contracts.

"With the rapid development of the digital economy, consumption in cyberspace has become more popular with the public, which has also brought more disputes in this field," He Xiaorong, vice-president of the top court, said while discussing the data at a news conference on Wednesday, which was World Consumer Rights Day.

For example, Chinese courts settled 32,000 disputes related to online purchases last year, significantly more than the 12,000 settled in 2018, He said.

In addition, over the past five years, courts across the country resolved a large number of disputes centering on the quality of products bought online, as well as on rental and tourism contracts, he added.

"Better handling such cases helps purify the online consumption environment and strengthens the protection of consumers' rights and interests," he said. "It can also guide sellers on e-commerce platforms to better regulate their operations and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the digital economy."