Editor's note: China released guidelines on online platforms' pricing practices that came into effect on Friday. Economic Information Daily spoke to Hong Yong, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, and officials of related departments on how they can help to foster a market environment characterized by fair competition. Below are excerpts of their comments. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) calls for improving market regulation rules, unifying standards and enhancing regulatory capabilities to foster a market order characterized by high quality, fair pricing and healthy competition.

Platform companies have been instructed to strictly regulate subsidy practices, avoid malicious price competition and not make false or exaggerated claims about the scale or intensity of their subsidies.

The platform economy involves millions of online business operators, a large number of flexible workers and more than 900 million online consumers. It empowers a wide range of industries in the real economy, forming a highly inclusive, widely accessible and open ecosystem.

The promotion of the standardized, healthy and sustainable development of this ecosystem requires not only the "invisible hand" of the market to efficiently allocate resources, but also the "visible hand" of the government to make timely interventions and establish clear boundaries.

The guidelines establish clear red lines for platform pricing practices. They safeguard operators' autonomy in setting prices while protecting consumers' legitimate rights and interests. This marks a crucial step in guiding the platform economy from disorderly expansion toward healthier and more regulated development.

But the healthy development of the platform economy is not just about the growth of the companies themselves, but also about the sustained prosperity of the entire ecosystem. Platform companies typically charge merchants various fees, including commission, revenue-sharing fees, membership fees, technical service fees, information service fees and marketing fees, which together form the primary revenue sources for the platforms.

Some merchants have raised concerns about the range of charges, complex calculation methods and lack of transparency in platform fee structures. Although many platforms have gradually improved their compliance systems as they grow, internal compliance mechanisms governing fee practices remain insufficient in some cases, leading to inadequate risk control.

With the implementation of the guidelines, platform pricing practices will be subject to stricter compliance requirements. First, they define boundaries for compliant pricing behavior. Second, they reaffirm operators' autonomy in pricing, preventing platforms from abusing their position to impose unreasonable interference. Third, they strengthen consumers' rights to information and choice, making pricing more transparent and consumption more reassuring. These measures will help foster a fair, transparent and orderly platform ecosystem.

Meanwhile, there are still significant growth opportunities for the market. The key is to identify where they lie and how to unlock them. For example, the instant retail sector is going through a phase of rapid expansion. Competition among platforms should not focus solely on existing merchants or price, but should instead target new customer segments, new scenarios and emerging demands to genuinely develop the overall market.