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In China, if you're not being regulated, you probably don't matter.
在中国，如果你没有受到监管，说明你或许无关紧要。
So it's no surprise that e-commerce and online transactions have been getting a good deal of attention from the government. A new law promulgated this week by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and set to go into effect in mid-March is the first of what are likely to be several regulating the industry.
有鉴于此，电子商务和网络交易受到政府的极大关注就不足为奇了。中国国家工商行政管理总局本周颁布了一项新管理办法，将于3月中旬生效。它是针对这一行业的首个管理办法，之后可能陆续出台多项相关法规。
The measure, which lawyers say mostly restates previous consumer-protection and data-privacy laws, nonetheless highlights the growing importance of the e-commerce industry in China and what the government sees as a growing need to regulate it. The country's total online sales are expected to rise to $356.1 billion in 2016 from $169.4 billion last year, according to Forrester Research. U.S. online retail sales are forecast to reach $327 billion from $226 billion over the same period.
尽管如此，该办法凸显出电子商务在中国日益重要的地位，以及政府认为越来越有必要对其进行监管。律师们说，该办法基本重申了以前的消费者保护和数据隐私保护法规。据Forrester Research说，预计2016年中国网络销售总额将从去年的1,694亿美元上升至3,561亿美元。预计同期美国的网络零售额将从2,260亿美元上升至3,270亿美元。
In part the new e-commerce law calls for real-name registration for individuals selling on third-party marketplaces like Alibaba Group Holding Inc.'s Taobao e-commerce site. It also stipulates a mandatory seven-day return policy for most goods and says online-payment platforms must safeguard users' data privacy.
这个新的电子商务管理办法要求，在阿里巴巴(Alibaba Group Holding Inc.)的淘宝网(Taobao)等第三方平台上销售商品的个人必须进行实名注册。它还规定，大部分商品必须实行七天退货政策，并且要求网络支付平台必须保护用户的数据隐私。
For most major e-commerce players, the law is unlikely to have a big impact. Alibaba itself already has a seven-day return policy and uses real-name registration for its major e-commerce sites.
对多数大型电子商务公司来说，该办法不太可能带来巨大影响。阿里巴巴对于其主要电子商务网站已经实行了七天退货政策和实名注册。
'We welcome steps to continuously improve consumer-protection mechanisms as these will drive the sustained and healthy development of the online retail industry,' an Alibaba spokeswoman said.
阿里巴巴发言人说，我们欢迎不断完善消费者保护机制的各种措施，因为这些措施将推动网络零售业的持续健康发展。
But potentially more important than the impact of this law is the fact that e-commerce is in the government's cross-hairs, meaning down the line it could face more tricky regulatory hiccups. For instance, last week, sources told The Wall Street Journal that China's' central bank is leading a push to regulate new efforts by tech companies, several of which run e-commerce operations, to offer investment products to consumers.
但相比该办法带来的影响，可能更重要的是电子商务已经进入政府的关注范围，意味着未来它可能面临更棘手的监管问题。举例来讲，上周多位消息人士向《华尔街日报》透露，中国央行正在牵头制定规章，以监管科技公司面向消费者推出的新投资产品。其中多家科技公司运营有电子商务业务。
Meanwhile, in December, Beijing said it put together a drafting committee to create a 'comprehensive e-commerce law' according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
与此同时，据新华社报道，去年12月中国政府宣布成立电子商务法起草组，负责起草涵盖广泛的电子商务法。
'It is in urgent need to tease out, replenish, revise and improve existing laws and regulations,'said Lyu Zushan, head of the drafting group, according to Xinhua. The drafting of the law is expected to be completed by June 2016.
据新华社说，电子商务法起草组负责人吕祖善说，目前急需梳理、补充、修改和完善现行法律法规。预计该法的起草工作将于2016年6月前完成。
While the government is likely to be careful in how it regulates an industry that has proven one of the country's most dynamic, entrepreneurial and profitable, many an industry hasn't fared well under the heat of the government spotlight. Most recently, the use of microblogs in China has been declining, in part due to a government crackdown designed to better control the flow of information on websites like Sina Corp.'s Weibo.
尽管政府可能会慎重处理对这个已是中国最具活力、最具创业精神、最赚钱的行业之一的监管，但很多行业都在政府的严格监管下表现不佳。最新一个例子是，中国微博的使用量一直在下滑，部分原因在于政府发起了一项清理行动，意在加强对新浪微博等网站信息流的管制。
