More legal support urged for business

court jointly issued a guideline with the National Development and Reform Commission last month.

The 31-article legal document stipulates that people who use public power to infringe upon private property rights and those who illegally seize, seal up or freeze the property of private enterprises should be strictly dealt with.

It orders judges to be more prudent in the application of coercive measures, including detention and surveillance, when dealing with cases involving entrepreneurs.

Additionally, protections for new types of property, such as digital currencies and those registered in cyberspace, need to be strengthened, it added.

Li Ya, a lawyer from the Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm who specializes in commercial disputes, welcomed protections for such property.

“Online properties are inevitable in the internet and technology era,” he said. “Better legal protections for them, I believe, will foster rapid growth in the industry.”

Liu Junhai, a business law professor at Renmin University of China, lauded the series of moves in the judicial sector, saying “the intensified protection of property rights will bolster confidence of market players, especially private entrepreneurs, and encourage them in business innovation and wealth creation”.

He said the advance of rule of law in terms of property rights protection will also contribute to building a safer and fairer business environment, promoting the country’s highquality and sustainable economic and social development.