China’s government in Beijing has released a new five-year "blueprint" for greater regulation of vast parts of the country’s economy.
The plan is a sweeping framework for the broader crackdown on key industries that has harmed the share prices of several leading Chinese companies and left investors reeling.
The blueprint, jointly issued by the State Council and the Communist Party’s Central Committee, said authorities would "actively" work on legislation in areas including national security, technology and monopolies.
Law enforcement will be strengthened in sectors ranging from food and drugs to big data and artificial intelligence, the document said.
Investors around the world have been seeking to make sense of a regulatory onslaught in recent weeks that has roiled markets, particularly after authorities banned profits in the $100-billion U.S. after-school tutoring sector.
Over the past year Chinese authorities have launched anti-monopoly probes into some of the nation’s largest technology companies such as Alibaba, while also mandating cybersecurity reviews of foreign stock listings -- a measure that has created problems for ride hailing company Didi Global.
The Chinese government framework singles out areas of the economy such as national security, technological innovation, public health, culture and education, ethnic religion, biosecurity, ecological civilization, risk prevention, anti-monopoly, and foreign-related issues for greater legislation.
Investors have been selling shares of sectors that receive criticism in state media, from digital gaming and e-cigarettes to property and baby formula.
Alcohol-related stocks were the latest to take a hit, falling after the Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog called for a reduction of business drinking after a sexual assault case involving an Alibaba employee.
Some analysts in North America welcomed the blueprint as an attempt by Chinese authorities to help investors understand the motives behind their ongoing regulatory push.
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