Introduction

This chapter examines the way in which GATS rules apply to telecommunication services and electronic commerce (e-commerce) in the Chinese context. Rather than list GATS articles, it discusses areas where current Chinese regulation may give rise to inconsistencies with China's WTO accession commitments.

The chapter focuses on the regulation of telecommunications services, including the telecommunications service fundamental to the internet. The chapter treats ‘internet services’ as composed of both ‘carriage’ services (the transmission of data over telecommunication networks) and ‘content’ (the data that are transmitted). It does not discuss internet content regulation. Some consideration, however, will be given to GATS provisions on domestic regulation with implications for e-commerce, focusing on new regulation on telecommunications, internet service providers (ISPs) and internet content providers (ICPs), with a brief discussion of encryption regulation.

The chapter is divided into five sections: the first section describes the priority given to China's telecommunications and internet industry and identifies key regulators; the second section considers the consistency of China's new telecommunications regulation with the WTO Reference Paper on Basic Telecommunications; the third examines the impact of China's market-access commitments on mobile services as an example of liberalization in a particular sector; the fourth details the debate surrounding the definition of ‘internet services’ at the WTO and its implications for the regulation of ISP services; and, finally, the fifth section discusses GATS provisions on domestic regulation in relation to recent Chinese encryption regulation.