国内英语新闻:China amends consumer rights law

BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature Friday passed a revision to the law on consumer rights and interests, the first time since the legislation was adopted in 1993.

A total of 150 members of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) voted for the bill while two opposed and one abstained at its bi-monthly session, which closed here Friday. The bill has been through three readings since April this year.

The revision, focused on better protecting the rights and interests of consumers, added regulations on online shopping and tightened liabilities of businesses.

The revision came at a time when the country has been trying to turn domestic consumption into an engine of its economic growth.

One of the main principles of the revision is to boost confidence of consumers, said Jia Dongming, head of the civil law division under the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, at a press conference held after the session closed.

"If people feel more secure and are more willing to spend, business will see more revenue and profit and domestic demand will expand. The whole country will benefit," Jia said.

Although the consumer rights law has played a critical role in protecting the rights of customers and maintaining market order in the past two decades, there have been dramatic changes in the way people shop and the idea of consumption, he said.

The revised law not only addresses the latest changes, such as online shopping and consumers' privacy, but also persistent problems like the difficulties an individual customer faces to claim their rights, he added.

Prof. Liu Junhai, with the Law School of Renmin University of China, told Xinhua that the revised law has struck a balance between consumers and business as well as between justice and efficiency.

"I believe that the new consumer rights law will help build a consumer-friendly society and have significant impact on the country's tasks of transforming its economic growth pattern and promoting stability and harmony," he said.

The revised law will take effect on March 15, also World Consumer Rights Day.