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China Appears to Backpedal From Video Game Crackdown
A proposal to tighten restrictions on online video games disappeared from a regulator’s website, weeks after the plan prompted a sell-off in tech stocks.
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People playing video games at an internet cafe in Beijing on Monday. Credit...Wu Hao/EPA, via Shutterstock
By Vivian Wang
Jan. 23, 2024Updated 2:27 p.m. ET
Chinese regulators on Tuesday appeared to backpedal from a plan to reduce how much money people spend on online video games, after the proposal had tanked video gaming companies’ stocks and raised doubts about the government’s commitment to reviving China’s slowing economy.
The draft rules disappeared from the website of the National Press and Publication Administration, the agency overseeing the proposal, after previously being posted there for public comment. Instead, the page displayed an error.
The agency, which issues licenses to game publishers and regulates the industry, did not issue any notice of retraction. An employee who answered the phone said she was not clear on the circumstances surrounding the move.
Even absent confirmation that the proposal had been killed, the stock prices of China’s two largest video game companies jumped on Tuesday, with Tencent rising 3.7 percent and Netease rising 6 percent, more than the overall market.
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Vivian Wang is a China correspondent based in Beijing, where she writes about how the country’s global rise and ambitions are shaping the daily lives of its people. More about Vivian Wang
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