JC Master Legal News Issue 1177

Key Takeaways for This Issue

The National Administration of Financial Regulation has issued the Measures for the Regulatory Evaluation of Consumer Rights Protection at Financial Institutions.

On September 10, the National Administration of Financial Regulation issued the “Notice on the Issuance of the Measures for the Regulatory Evaluation of Consumer Rights Protection by Financial Institutions,” which shall take effect from the date of its promulgation. The former “Measures for the Regulatory Evaluation of Consumer Rights Protection by Banking and Insurance Institutions” (2021) is hereby repealed.

Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area has unveiled the “Flock of Geese Plan,” a set of measures to support and nurture enterprises in their journey toward an IPO.

On September 11, the Management Committee of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area issued a notice soliciting public comments on the “Several Measures of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area for Implementing the ‘Flock of Geese Plan’ to Promote Corporate IPOs and Foster Supporting Services (Draft for Public Comment).” The deadline for submitting feedback is September 18, 2025.

The State Administration for Market Regulation plans to issue the “Several Measures to Promote the Development and Growth of the Private Sector through Metrology.”

On September 10, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued an announcement soliciting public comments on the “Several Measures to Promote the Development and Growth of the Private Sector through Metrology (Draft for Comments),” with a deadline for feedback set for October 10, 2025.

Finance & Capital Markets 
The National Administration of Financial Regulation has issued the Measures for the Regulatory Evaluation of Consumer Rights Protection at Financial Institutions.

On September 10, the National Administration of Financial Regulation issued the “Notice on the Issuance of the Measures for the Regulatory Evaluation of Consumer Rights Protection by Financial Institutions,” which shall take effect from the date of its promulgation. The former “Measures for the Regulatory Evaluation of Consumer Rights Protection by Banking and Insurance Institutions” (2021) is hereby repealed. 
The Measures extend their scope to all regulated financial institutions within the territory, establishing seven evaluation criteria—“institutional mechanisms, suitability management, marketing conduct management, dispute resolution, financial education, consumer services, and personal information protection”—and assigning weighted scores to each. The results are graded from 1 to 5 and used as a reference for differentiated regulatory oversight: top‑performing institutions may receive positive incentives, while those with low scores will face measures such as risk warnings, remediation orders, accountability actions, and restrictions on business activities. 
Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area has unveiled the “Flock of Geese Plan,” a set of measures to support and nurture enterprises in their journey toward an IPO.

On September 11, the Management Committee of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area issued a notice soliciting public comments on the “Several Measures of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area for Implementing the ‘Flock of Geese Plan’ to Promote Corporate IPOs and Foster Supporting Services (Draft for Public Comment).” The deadline for submitting feedback is September 18, 2025. 
The Measures propose establishing a tiered corporate listing‑cultivation system—“Young Goose–Swan–Leading Goose”—and enhancing end-to‑to‑end services throughout the enterprise lifecycle. Subsidies for IPO‑preparation expenses are available to “Swan” enterprises, up to RMB 2 million, while interest subsidies on new loans can reach up to RMB 500,000. The policy also encourages diversified capital operations, refinancing, and M&A restructuring, and supports the establishment of employee stock‑ownership platforms. A project pipeline for fundraising and investment is being built, with strengthened risk assessments and public‑opinion monitoring. Eligible enterprises must maintain actual operations in Yizhuang New City and have no record of major legal violations over the past three years.

Business and Corporations 
COMMERCIAL & CORPORATE 
The State Administration for Market Regulation plans to issue the “Several Measures to Promote the Development and Growth of the Private Sector through Metrology.”

On September 10, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued an announcement soliciting public comments on the “Several Measures to Promote the Development and Growth of the Private Sector through Metrology (Draft for Comments).” The deadline for submitting feedback is October 10, 2025. The Measures set forth eight specific initiatives: optimizing administrative approval services in the field of metrology and shortening the time required for verification and calibration of measuring instruments; streamlining and simplifying procedures for type‑approval modifications; establishing a regular communication mechanism with private-sector entities to gather their metrological needs; encouraging private-sector organizations to undertake metrology‑related scientific and technological innovation projects and participate in key initiatives; continuously organizing the “Metrology Services for SMEs” campaign and implementing tailored, differentiated metrological measures for each enterprise; supporting participation in the establishment of industrial metrology testing centers to enhance measurement capabilities; providing energy‑ and carbon‑metering services to private-sector entities and assisting them in applying for leadership rankings in energy and water efficiency; launching overseas cooperation initiatives under the metrology framework to promote mutual recognition of international certificates; and fostering collaboration between higher education institutions and private-sector organizations to cultivate metrology‑skilled personnel.

Taxation

The Ministry of Finance plans to issue the “Standards for Basic Accounting Work” and the “Operational Guidelines for Completing Accounting Vouchers and Maintaining Accounting Ledgers.”

On September 9, the Accounting Department of the Ministry of Finance issued a letter soliciting comments on the “Norms for Basic Accounting Work (Draft for Comments)” and the “Operational Guidelines for Completing Accounting Vouchers and Recording in Accounting Ledgers (Draft for Comments).” The deadline for submitting feedback is September 30, 2025. 
Among these measures, the regulations clearly define the setup of accounting positions within organizations, the separation of duties, personnel recusal, software application, and the archival management of accounting records; they strengthen internal controls and accounting oversight, and specify procedures for the handover of accounting responsibilities as well as associated legal liabilities. The operational guidelines further detail standards for preparing accounting vouchers and maintaining accounting ledgers, affirm the legal status of electronic accounting records, and reinforce practical requirements for accounting management in an information‑driven environment.

LITIGATION & ARBITRATION

The draft amendment to the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law and the draft amendment to the Cybersecurity Law were submitted for deliberation for the first time. From September 8 to 12, the 17th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress was held in Beijing, during which several draft laws will be reviewed. 
The 17th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress will deliberate draft laws including the Atomic Energy Law, the Law on Responding to Public Health Emergencies, the National Parks Law, the Arbitration Law, the Law on Legal Education and Public Awareness, the Food Safety Law, the Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals, the General Provisions of the Ecological and Environmental Code, the Ecological Conservation Section, the Green and Low-Carbon Development Section, the National Development Planning Law, and the Prison Law. It will also consider the draft amendment to the Cybersecurity Law submitted by the Chairpersons’ Conference of the NPC Standing Committee, the draft revision of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law submitted by the Finance and Economic Affairs Committee of the NPC, the draft revision of the Law on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language submitted by the Education, Science, Culture, and Health Committee, as well as the draft amendment to the Environmental Protection Tax Law submitted by the State Council.

The Supreme People’s Court has released typical antitrust cases for 2025.

On September 10, the Supreme People’s Court released five landmark antitrust cases from 2025 during China’s Fair Competition Policy Promotion Week, covering key sectors vital to people’s livelihoods, including transportation, building materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and chemicals. 
Through this batch of cases, the Supreme People’s Court has clarified the following key points: it has determined that an administrative agency’s establishment of a franchise for shared electric bicycles constitutes an abuse of administrative power to exclude or restrict competition; it has set forth the criteria for identifying and the penalties applicable to horizontal monopoly agreements—such as coordinated price hikes—entered into and implemented by industry associations through the organization and coordination of enterprises; it has ruled that active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturers engaging in market division and price‑fixing constitute horizontal monopolies, with the fine amount determined according to the severity of the violation; in a case involving a concrete‑producing enterprise, it has explicitly established the presumption of damages suffered by victims and the allocation of the burden of proof, thereby reducing the plaintiff’s evidentiary burden; and in a case concerning the formaldehyde sales market, it has found that upstream and downstream firms, by means of contractual provisions, divided the market, thereby constituting a horizontal monopoly agreement. These rulings have strengthened the rules governing market competition in areas vital to people’s livelihoods and provide important guidance on corporate compliance, the boundaries of industry association conduct, and standards for damage compensation.

The Supreme People’s Court has released typical cases on campus food safety.

During the 2025 National Food Safety Public Awareness Week, the Supreme People’s Court released eight typical cases involving campus food safety, covering criminal, civil, and administrative matters. These cases address issues such as catering establishments’ misuse of nitrites, suppliers falsely labeling duck meat rolls as beef rolls, managerial embezzlement of special funds earmarked for students’ nutritional meals, schools terminating outsourcing contracts for their cafeterias, supermarkets near campuses selling expired food, violations of labeling regulations by food suppliers, the supply of toxic or harmful ingredients, and omissions in administrative penalties targeting relevant parties. 
The key facts and legal principles in this batch of typical cases include: 1. An off-campus catering restaurant was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for the abusive use of nitrites, which caused food poisoning among students; 2. A supplier was sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment and fined RMB 100,000 for passing off duck meat rolls as beef rolls; 3. An administrator was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and fined RMB 200,000 for embezzling special funds earmarked for student nutrition meals; 4. A school may lawfully terminate a contract with an outsourced service provider if the latter fails to effectively rectify food safety hazards; 5. A supermarket near a school was ordered to pay punitive damages of RMB 1,000 for selling expired food; 6. Food producers and operators bear supervisory responsibility for the legality of product labeling; false or ambiguous indications of origin and production dates are subject to penalties; 7. The sale of pork containing chloramphenicol entails liability for the producer and operator, along with a fine; 8. Where administrative penalties fail to address all jointly operating entities, the court has the authority to annul the penalty decision and issue judicial recommendations to urge improvements in regulatory oversight.

The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has released typical cases of substantive review of technical evidence in injury-related cases.

On September 11, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate published on its official website the “Notice on Issuing the ‘Typical Cases of Substantive Review of Technical Evidence in Injury‑Related Cases.’” 
The document compiles eight typical cases involving harm‑related offenses, covering intentional injury, intentional homicide, traffic accidents, and other categories. It highlights the application of substantive review of technical evidence in ascertaining the facts of the case, clarifying causal relationships, determining liability, correcting forensic errors, and ensuring precise prosecution. The cases underscore the collaborative role of prosecutors and forensic experts, calling for comprehensive, systematic, and professional examination of expert opinions, audiovisual materials, electronic data, and other forms of technical evidence, thereby facilitating fact‑finding, holding perpetrators accountable in accordance with the law, and imposing proportionate sentences. The document also sets forth clear standards for the substantive review of technical evidence, emphasizes an integrated mechanism for coordinated performance of duties, and seeks to enhance the professionalism and standardization of handling harm‑related cases.