ABSTRACT
Regulation is an important part of the modern retail environment, and is a significant force shaping competition between firms, the governance of investment, the use of labor, and the overall extraction of profit from retailing of goods. This chapter explains the evolution of the contemporary regulatory state of China. It describes the major policy developments in the regulatory regime, which have defined the competitive space for retail capital and shaped China's new retail economy in significant ways. The policy initiatives before 2004 can be called deregulation; those introduced and implemented after 2004, when China became a full member of the World trade organisation (WTO), are more appropriately described as re-regulation. The examination of the public policies in the chapter shows that most regulations are mimicked from those of the Western countries, but some of them apparently privilege the capital of domestic retailers. Protection of consumers is an important part of retail regulation making.
