Chinese industry bodies issue trial guidelines to advance unified market

BEIJING -- Seventeen national industry associations and chambers of commerce on Friday jointly released a set of trial guidelines for domestic trade transactions, aiming to build a unified, open and orderly competitive market system and further advance the development of a unified national market in China.

China's domestic trade market is large in scale, with numerous market participants and broad employment coverage, making it an important pillar of a strong domestic market. In 2025, the country's total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 50 trillion yuan (about $7.3 trillion), with its consumer market steadily ranking second in the world.

However, domestic trade continues to face problems, including irregular transactions, prolonged payment cycles and difficulties in collecting payments. Enterprises have been calling strongly for the establishment of unified, high-standard transaction rules with clear rights and responsibilities.

Comprising 38 articles across seven chapters, the guidelines are grounded in the principles of law compliance, equal and voluntary dealings, good faith and fair competition.

They cover the full transaction process from contract signing and goods delivery and acceptance to payment terms and settlement, dispute resolution and business conduct norms, thus providing enterprises with actionable and easily implementable codes of conduct.

These guidelines were co-released by bodies including the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the China General Chamber of Commerce, the China National Textile and Apparel Council, the China National Light Industry Council, and the China Federation of Internet Societies.