On 4 April 2022, the State Council and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China released the Guidelines on Building a Unified National Market (hereinafter referred to as “the Guidelines”). It’s indicated in the document that the key goal of the Guidelines is to expand the scale of the domestic market through the removal of local protectionism rules and regional barriers.

In the past, China largely relied on exports to sustain its economic growth. This dependence on exports, however, has shifted due to uncertainties within the external market. As China pushes for stable economic growth, much more importance has been placed on the domestic market. Shifting China’s attention towards the domestic market is their main reason to accelerate their pace as they construct a more unified national market. Therefore, in support of this, the Guidelines outline five major actions and detailed instructions to be taken, specifically including: