The Supreme People's Court (SPC) has recently released the first batch of 10 typical cases of administrative litigation related to market access, aiming to fully leverage the exemplary role of the cases in guiding and advancing the rule of law in this field. 

This release is part of the SPC’s efforts to provide sound legal guarantees for the country’s endeavor of building a unified national market.

The Chinese government is committed to enhancing the market access system, removing the barriers to market access, and establishing a market access system characterized by openness, transparency, regulation, equal competition, clear division of rights and responsibilities, and effective supervision, in a bid to ensure that enterprises under all types of ownership have equal access to production factors and a level playing field, and enjoy equal legal protection.

Statistics show that in the past three years, courts nationwide have handled 57,880 first-instance administrative litigation cases related to market access, accounting for 6.46 percent of all first-instance administrative litigation cases. 

The newly released cases involve market access issue in a wide range sectors, including road passenger transport, financial leasing, administrative licensing for gas, administrative decisions on enterprise name disputes, government procurement, and changes in registrations of legal persons. 

In terms of defendants, various departments were involved, including those of administrative review and approval services, market supervision and management, transportation, culture, tourism and sports, housing, commerce, and finance. 

The plaintiffs involved in the cases also represent diverse entities, including State-owned enterprises, private enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises, collectively-owned enterprises, and farmers’ cooperatives. 

The legal issues addressed in these cases are varied as well, including franchise approval, responsibility for false applications, restrictions on others' operations, and equal protection for enterprises under all types of ownership.

These cases, on the one hand, corrected illegal actions of some administrative departments through judgments; on the other hand, supported and safeguarded administrative departments in lawfully exercising market supervision powers, reflecting the strict and impartial judicial practices of courts.

They demonstrate the proactive and effective judicial practices and achievements of courts in eliminating hidden barriers to market access, promoting fair competition, and stimulating market vitality. 

Looking ahead, courts nationwide will continue to enhance targeted and effective administrative adjudication related to market access, creating a fairer, more transparent and enabling development environment for enterprises under all types of ownership, contributing to Chinese modernization with modernization of adjudicatory work.