Chinese consumers see their rights enshrined in major legal review

The mainland's top legal body has strengthened consumer rights through its revision to the Consumer Protection Law yesterday, the first major national overhaul in two decades.

The revisions increase consumer powers, add rules for the booming online shopping sector and stiffen penalties for businesses that mislead shoppers .

Regulators have been cracking down on real or perceived corporate wrongdoing, with domestic and international infant formula makers and drug makers particularly coming under the spotlight this year.

Global firms like Apple and Starbucks have also been getting caught in the glare, while South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's largest smartphone maker, had to apologise to customers on Thursday after a broadcast on CCTV criticised the company's repair policies.

Beijing is also trying to stimulate domestic consumers as it seeks to shift the economy towards a more consumption-driven model. But domestic consumers are often wary of product safety and quality, with 3.8 billion yuan (HK$4.8 billion) worth of poor quality goods sold on the mainland between 2010 and last year, according to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

"Strengthening consumer confidence will benefit the whole nation's economic development and boost domestic demand," Jia Dongming, director of the civil law working committee under the Standing Committee, said at a press briefing to announce the changes to the law.