ISSUING AUTHORITY:

Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress

DATE OF ISSUANCE:

November 26, 2025

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 2026

On November 26th, the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress adopted the Decision on Amending the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Optimizing the Business Environment (the “Decision”), which will come into effect on January 1, 2026.

According to the Decision, Shanghai will benchmark international high-standard economic and trade rules by expanding openness in services trade and digital trade. Large enterprises are prohibited from abusing their advantageous position to delay payments owed to small and medium-sized enterprises, and coordinated regulatory oversight will be strengthened. The amendments also enhance intellectual property protection, curb malicious litigation and trademark squatting, and prohibit the fabrication or dissemination of false information that harms enterprise rights and interests. Online service providers are required to improve their complaint-handling mechanisms.

In addition, the Decision optimizes the full-process delivery of policies benefiting enterprises and promotes direct and rapid access to such policies. It further deepens talent development mechanisms to attract domestic and overseas talent. The amendments also strictly regulate special inspections, improve filing and disclosure procedures, strengthen the regulation of occupational claims and reporting activities, and enhance the formulation of policies and the fair competition review mechanism.

Reference:

上海市人民代表大会常务委员会关于修改《上海市优化营商环境条例》的决定