BACK TO THE PAST: Visitors observe the weaving process at an industrial heritage museum in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, on November 19. Renovated from an obsolete textile factory, it is the first such museum in the city (FENG GUO)

Home Price Rise

Home prices in major Chinese cities continued to rise in October despite the government's persistent efforts to cool the property market.

Of a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities, 65 saw month-on-month rises in new home prices in October, while 62 reported price gains in existing and second-hand homes, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on November 18.

On a yearly basis, all cities except Wenzhou reported gains in new home prices.

First-tier cities continued to lead rises in October, with the prices of new homes in Beijing and Shanghai surging nearly 20 percent from a year ago, while prices in most second- and third-tier cities expanded at a more tempered pace, according to the NBS, which attributed the drastic growth partly to a low comparison base.

Driven by rapid urbanization and speculation, China's property market has taken off in recent years and become a major problem for authorities as more people are priced out of the market.

Goods Safety

China's quality watchdog is considering a consumer goods safety law for better consumer rights protection.

The draft law will be submitted to the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council for examination by the end of 2015, and will be included in the State Council's legislative work, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) on November 18.

The consumer goods safety law legislation is aimed at intensifying the institutional supervision of consumer goods safety, reducing and preventing consumer goods safety accidents, and safeguarding consumer rights and interests, said Mei Kebao, AQSIQ Vice Minister.

The consumer goods safety law should be linked with the product quality and food safety laws, and take into consideration the condition of Chinese enterprises and the country's economic and social development, he added.

Tang Wanjin, a member of the leading group for the consumer goods safety law legislation, suggested that the law should highlight the liability of companies and governments, clarify fines and punishments and offer practical supervision methods to improve the efficiency of the consumer goods safety monitoring network.

So far, China has no specific law concerning consumer goods safety. The Food Safety Law went into effect on June 1, 2009 and the Product Quality Law became effective on September 1, 2000.

Shopping Portal

After more than a month of testing, the cross-border e-commerce platform of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) started its dry run on November 18.

A total of 101 products are now being sold through Buyeasi.com, with prices around 30-percent lower than in stores, almost as low as those offered by online shopping agents based overseas.

The website requires that tariffs be added to sale prices, with tariff rates varying according to product category. For example, the tariff imposed on bags is 10 percent, while that for cosmetics is 30-50 percent.

Products on Buyeasi.com fall into two main categories. One category mainly includes luxury items, which are delivered to customers from the FTZ.

Buyeasi.com also sells skincare products supplied directly from overseas. Customers who purchase such products via the portal will receive their package direct from the overseas supplier within three or four days.