China Signals Regulatory Crackdown Will Deepen in Long Push

(Bloomberg) -- China signaled its push to regulate sweeping parts of the economy, which has jolted markets, will be deep and sustained over the next five years.

In a statement late Wednesday published by the State Council, China said it will “actively” work on legislation in areas including national security, technological innovation as well as anti-monopoly, in order to improve the legal framework “much-needed for governing the country.”

Law enforcement will be strengthened in sectors ranging from food and drugs to education tutoring where people’s immediate interests are at stake, the council said.

The announcement could fuel more concern among investors after a regulatory onslaught on technology firms and the after-school tutoring sector shook markets. Chinese authorities have launched anti-monopoly probes into some of the nation’s largest tech companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. before moving on to curb other parts of the private sector.

The guidelines, planned through 2025, called for efforts to look over the legal framework in sectors including the digital economy, Internet finance, artificial intelligence and big data and cloud computing.

The moves will ensure a “healthy development” of new business models, according to the statement.

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