A new batch of regulations will come into effect starting in March, covering multiple areas.

Implementation of the Eleventh Amendment to the Criminal Law

The Eleventh Amendment to the Criminal Law, passed by the 24th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress, will officially come into effect on March 1. The Eleventh Amendment mainly focuses on criminal law governance and protection in areas such as safeguarding the lives and safety of the people, safe production, financial market order, intellectual property rights, ecological environment, and public health safety related to epidemic prevention and control.

Comprehensive Regulatory Upgrade

Trillion-Dollar Payment Market to Face Restructuring

The payment market is undergoing comprehensive regulation and restructuring. Recently, relevant departments have issued a series of documents on payment supervision, first mentioning anti-monopoly in the payment field and introducing new payment business rules and reserve fund management measures, delivering a set of strict regulatory "combination punches." Among them, the "Regulations on the Custody of Customer Reserve Funds of Non-bank Payment Institutions" issued by the central bank will come into effect on March 1, 2021. The regulations standardize the centralized custody business of customer reserve funds after centralized deposit, further refine the provisions on the deposit, use, and transfer of reserve funds, and clarify the regulatory responsibilities.

Industry analysts believe that the promulgation of this regulation will have a profound impact on the development of China's payment industry and even the operation mechanism of the financial market.

Implementation of the "Regulations on the Management of Online Recruitment Services"

Online recruitment shall not charge job seekers a deposit

The "Regulations on the Management of Online Recruitment Services" clearly stipulates that it is prohibited to leak, tamper with, destroy, or illegally sell or illegally provide to others the personal information and business conditions of employers collected, and it is also prohibited to charge job seekers a deposit. The regulations will come into effect from March 2021.

The regulations clarify that the recruitment information provided by employers should be legal and true and shall not contain discriminatory content; commercial human resources service agencies engaged in online recruitment services shall clearly indicate their service items, charging standards, etc.

Implementation of the New "Regulations on the Management of Rural Land Management Rights Transfer"

Guiding the Orderly Transfer of Land Management Rights

The "Regulations on the Management of Rural Land Management Rights Transfer" will be officially implemented from March 1, 2021. How to avoid the "non-grain" and "non-agricultural" use of cultivated land? The regulations make corresponding provisions. On the one hand, strictly prevent the "non-grain" use of cultivated land, clarifying that the transfer of land management rights should ensure that farmland is used for agricultural purposes, giving priority to grain production, and the whether the operating projects comply with grain production and other industrial plans should be the key content of review and approval. Relevant agricultural and rural departments at all levels should strengthen services and encourage transferees to develop grain production.

On the other hand, resolutely stop the "non-agricultural" use of cultivated land, clarifying that the transferee of land management rights should protect the land in accordance with relevant laws and regulations; it is prohibited to change the agricultural use of land; it is prohibited to leave cultivated land idle or barren; it is prohibited to occupy cultivated land to build kilns, tombs, or build houses, dig sand, quarry, mine, or take soil; it is prohibited to occupy permanent basic farmland to develop forestry and fruit industry or dig ponds for fish farming.

More Autonomous "Naming," More Vibrant Market

Implementation of the Revised "Regulations on the Management of Enterprise Name Registration"

The revised "Regulations on the Management of Enterprise Name Registration" will come into effect from March 1 this year. The regulations clarify that if an enterprise believes that the name of another enterprise infringes on its legitimate rights and interests, it may sue the people's court or request the enterprise registration authority that handles the registration of the suspected infringing enterprise; after accepting the application, the enterprise registration authority may mediate, and if mediation fails, the enterprise registration authority shall make an administrative decision within the prescribed time limit.