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[00:01.48]For months, China has been increasing restrictions

[00:06.48]on private companies operating in the country.

[00:11.88]Here are the industries facing new measures:

[00:16.68]In education, measures began on Saturday

[00:21.08]barring private, for-profit tutoring companies

[00:26.16]from raising investments outside the country.

[00:31.64]The new rules also said tutoring centers

[00:35.64]must operate as non-profit organizations.

[00:40.16]They also cannot offer subjects

[00:44.08]already taught in public day schools

[00:47.36]or hold classes on weekends or holidays.

[00:52.08]China's competitive higher education system

[00:56.96]has made tutoring services very popular with parents.

[01:02.64]Private tutoring is a $120 billion industry in the country

[01:09.36]and includes several companies based overseas.

[01:15.44]But to increase the nation's slow birthrate,

[01:19.20]the government has been trying

[01:21.32]to lower the cost of raising children.

[01:25.76]In November, China's banking regulators

[01:29.52]put out draft rules calling for stronger controls

[01:34.16]for online lending.

[01:37.28]The company Ant Group is a major lender.

[01:42.28]Ant Group is a part of the larger Alibaba Group,

[01:46.88]a Chinese company specializing in technology,

[01:51.96]finance and online product sales.

[01:57.08]The rules set limits for online loans

[02:00.68]between provinces and put a limit

[02:03.64]on loan amounts for individuals.

[02:07.84]In April, the regulator demanded

[02:11.00]that Ant Group separate its payment business

[02:15.08]from its personal finance business.

[02:19.36]Regulators have also cracked down

[02:22.64]on traditional online commerce, or product sales.

[02:28.60]In April, the State Administration of Market Regulation

[02:33.44]fined Alibaba Group $2.75 billion.

[02:41.00]It was the company's highest fine yet.

[02:45.16]The regulator says Alibaba

[02:49.44]had been preventing its product sellers

[02:53.16]from selling their goods on other websites.

[02:57.84]The regulator has also fined smaller companies

[03:02.48]for their practices related to consumer rights and labor.

[03:09.40]In May, it fined the company JD.com 300,000 yuan

[03:17.64]for publishing false information about its food products.

[03:23.00]JD.com is a major competitor of Alibaba.

[03:30.68]This week, the regulator ordered China's food drop-off companies

[03:37.24]to provide better protection for workers.

[03:41.76]In June, the Cyberspace Administration of China,

[03:47.04]or CAC, told top ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing

[03:54.20]to stop taking new users.

[03:58.40]At first, the regulator named violations

[04:02.92]of consumer privacy as a reason for barring new riders.

[04:10.04]Later it put out separate draft rules for other Chinese companies

[04:16.04]to run a security check before listing stocks overseas.

[04:22.96]A CAC investigation led to a fine of 500,000 yuan

[04:30.80]for Didi and other companies

[04:34.28]for not reporting their takeovers of smaller companies.

[04:40.04]In May, three financial regulators widened rules

[04:45.52]on China's cryptocurrency industry.

[04:50.16]They barred banks and online payment companies

[04:54.28]from use of cryptocurrency for payment or legal settlement.

[05:01.44]They also barred companies from providing exchange services

[05:06.68]between cryptocurrencies and national moneys, among other rules.

[05:13.72]In the following weeks came measures

[05:16.64]from provincial governments to prevent bitcoin mining.

[05:22.68]Those measures caused a series

[05:25.48]of mining closures around the country.

[05:30.04]Chinese newspaper Global Times

[05:33.32]predicts that 90 percent of mining operations will soon close.

[05:40.48]On Friday, China's housing ministry and seven other regulators

[05:46.44]told the property management industry to "improve order."

[05:52.72]China's economy has improved after a drop in 2020

[05:58.16]due to the coronavirus pandemic.

[06:02.28]Officials have increased efforts to stop real estate companies

[06:07.36]from borrowing too much money this year.

[06:12.00]Other regulatory measures include

[06:15.12]borrowing limits for property developers

[06:18.52]and limits on property loans from banks.

[06:23.88]So, what might come next?

[06:27.52]Some experts say the gaming industry

[06:31.04]is next to face tough regulations.

[06:35.88]China's central government has continued to express concern

[06:41.56]about gaming addiction among young people.

[06:46.24]The government will likely target the many games

[06:50.20]being published without official permissions,

[06:53.96]or ones that misuse user information.

[06:59.44]That prediction comes from Rich Bishop.

[07:04.00]He is a chief executive

[07:07.24]of the Beijing-based app publisher AppInChina.

[07:13.24]In healthcare, last month the State Council

[07:17.20]urged a reduction in medicine prices for 2021.

[07:23.68]It also demanded changes

[07:26.12]to the country's complex healthcare system.

[07:31.32]I'm Alice Bryant.

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Words in This Story

tutoring – n. the act of teaching a single student

draft – n. a version of something (such as a document) that you make before you make the final version

province – n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

fine – v. to make someone pay an amount of money as punishment for breaking the law

consumer – n. a person who buys goods and services

cyberspace – n. the online world of computer networks and the Internet

stock – n. a share of the value of a company which can be bought, sold, or traded as an investment

cryptocurrency – n. a form of digital money that is not regulated by a central bank and whose records are stored in an encrypted computer database

bitcoin mining – n. the process of creating new bitcoin by solving a complex mathematical puzzle

real estate – n. property consisting of buildings and land

addiction – n. a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble)

app – n. a computer program that performs a special function