Launch Ceremony of the Centre and Seminar on Online Misconduct and Corporate Reputation Governance in the NEV Industry
Against the backdrop of the 23rd collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on strengthening online ecological governance held on November 28, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasised that online ecological governance is a vital task in building a cyber power, bearing on national development and security as well as the fundamental interests of the people. It is imperative to improve long-term mechanisms and make governance more forward-looking, targeted, systematic and coordinated, so as to continuously foster a clean and healthy cyberspace. In the current era of sweeping digitalisation, online reputation exhibits a “double-edged sword” effect: it creates opportunities for corporate brand communication while also posing severe challenges to corporate reputation due to the frequent occurrence of online misconduct. In active response to the national call for strengthening online ecological governance, Dacheng Shanghai keenly read the signs of the times and officially established the Dacheng Shanghai Center for Online Reputation Response and Governance on November 29, 2025, simultaneously hosting the “Seminar on Online Misconduct in the New Energy Vehicle Industry and Corporate Reputation Governance.” The event was guided by the Shanghai Internet Industry Federation, hosted by Dacheng Shanghai, and co-organised by the School of Law of East China University of Science and Technology, aiming to pool the expertise of multiple stakeholders and jointly explore pathways for online ecological governance in the new energy vehicle industry and mechanisms for corporate reputation protection that meet the requirements of the new era.
Chen Jun, Vice Chairman of the Dacheng Board of Directors and Managing Partner of Dacheng Shanghai, delivered the opening address. Attorney Chen welcomed the guests and expressed gratitude to the Shanghai Internet Industry Federation, the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration Office, colleagues who contributed to the establishment of the Centre, and friends from all sectors who care about the development of Dacheng Shanghai. He noted that the digital economy is developing rapidly and the importance of cyberspace is increasingly prominent, yet cross-industry online reputation misconduct frequently disrupts market order and misleads consumers. As a strategic emerging industry of the national economy, the new energy vehicle sector faces intensifying technological iteration and market competition, with online reputation misconduct erupting in concentrated fashion and hindering healthy industry development. He emphasised that in response to the urgent needs across industries for online reputation response and governance, Dacheng Shanghai has leveraged its professional expertise and resource advantages to bring together cross-disciplinary talent from across the firm in establishing this research centre, building a professional platform combining “theoretical research + practical operations + industry exchange.” The centre will explore online reputation patterns and governance pathways, draw on its integrated services to build a nationwide service network, and start with the new energy vehicle industry in putting its findings into practice, striving to develop governance experience that is replicable and scalable. Finally, Attorney Chen stated that Dacheng Shanghai will take the establishment of the Centre as an opportunity to continuously advance professional development, deepen its work in online reputation governance and corporate reputation protection, and wished the event every success.
Yang Yuzhou, Deputy Director of the Public Welfare and Social Responsibility Committee of the China Internet Association, Member of the Dacheng Board of Directors, and Director of the Dacheng Shanghai Center for Online Reputation Response and Governance, warmly welcomed the guests attending the seminar. Attorney Yang first introduced the original aspirations and future plans for the Centre. He pointed out that organised online troll armies and “malicious PR” operations currently profit by manufacturing and amplifying negative online reputation, severely undermining the business environment. Many enterprises, when confronted with sudden online reputation crises, tend to first seek PR “emergency remedies” or, in their desperation, resort to illegal post-deletion and other irregular methods, thereby transforming themselves from victims into violators and escalating online reputation risks into legal risks. He also noted that in recent years, China has continuously strengthened the rule of law in cyberspace, providing more pathways for lawful rights protection. The Centre was thus established to systematically explore how to organically combine legal means with PR strategies, providing enterprises with lawful and compliant online reputation response solutions. Its positioning focuses on four directions: Research—systematically conducting relevant legal research; Practice—distilling actionable governance pathways; Empowerment—providing training for corporate management and legal teams; and Collaboration—coordinating with government, platforms, universities, and media to jointly explore new governance models. Attorney Yang emphasised that the Centre will cooperate with the School of Law of East China University of Science and Technology to launch public welfare courses, converting frontline experience into knowledge products, and is committed to fostering a clean and orderly cyberspace and contributing to a better business environment. Finally, Attorney Yang once again thanked all guests for attending and wished the seminar every success.
Zhu Houzhen, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Xiaohongshu (RED), shared insights on platform governance measures and ecosystem development. Ms. Zhu briefly introduced Xiaohongshu and its development history, noting that after eleven years of growth, the platform has evolved from an early image-text sharing community into a cross-generational lifestyle content platform with over 350 million monthly active users, covering three major business segments: content community, commercial advertising, and e-commerce transactions. It has become a “lifestyle encyclopedia” recording diverse ways of life and carrying authentic user experiences. Ms. Zhu emphasised that Xiaohongshu has always upheld the community philosophy of “sincere sharing, friendly interaction” and is committed to fostering a commercial atmosphere of “sincere operation, heartfelt creation.” In response to online misconduct in the automotive industry such as fake reviews and malicious defamation, the platform has actively assumed its principal responsibility and launched systematic governance measures: establishing a key automaker list mechanism to strengthen online reputation monitoring and risk identification; conducting special rectification of “comparative reviews” to precisely target false content and unfair competition; and using technological means to identify homogenised violating information and improve cleanup efficiency. She also cited typical cases of violating posts to illustrate the platform’s handling logic in controversial events. For example, posts that disparage automaker technology without factual basis, spread false conclusions about vehicle accidents, or fabricate false rights-protection content such as “deposit fraud” are all taken down or traffic-limited according to platform rules, while content suspected of leaking trade secrets is rapidly handled to prevent the spread of misinformation. In terms of rights protection mechanisms, Xiaohongshu has streamlined its infringement reporting process, launched an “Official Rights Protection Centre” supporting reports across three major categories and nine types of infringement claims, and provided efficient channels such as batch complaints via PC. The platform has also introduced flexible governance tools such as “time-limited private messaging” and “dispute labelling” to balance user expression with corporate rights. Finally, Ms. Zhu stated that Xiaohongshu has long adhered to the mission of “Inspire Lives,” working with automakers to amplify quality content while combating violating content, continuously contributing to the construction of a healthy commercial ecosystem and supporting the sound development of the automotive industry in a clean cyberspace.
Jiang Xun, Standing Committee Member of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Director of the Learning and Cultural History Committee, and President of the Shanghai Internet Industry Federation, together with Chen Feng, Vice Chairman of the Dacheng Advisory Committee and Secretary of the Party Committee of Dacheng Shanghai, jointly unveiled the plaque marking the official establishment of the Dacheng Shanghai Center for Online Reputation Response and Governance.
In active response to the national call for strengthening online ecological governance and fundamentally enhancing the reserve of professional talent in related fields, representatives from three parties—Yu Feng, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Internet Industry Federation; Chen Jun, Vice Chairman of the Dacheng Board of Directors and Managing Partner of Dacheng Shanghai; and Zhou Dengliang, Vice Dean of the School of Law of East China University of Science and Technology—jointly signed the Cooperation Agreement on Jointly Hosting Public Welfare Courses on Legal Practice in Online Reputation Governance. This signing aims to build a systematic public welfare talent development platform by pooling resources from industry, academia, and professional law firms, empowering the healthy development of the industry.
Jiang Xun, President of the Shanghai Internet Industry Federation, congratulated the establishment of the Centre. President Jiang pointed out that automotive enterprises, especially new energy vehicle companies, are in a stage of rapid development and face the dual challenges of online reputation and legal issues. Enterprises need to build both a “hard armour” of legal protection and a “soft armour” of online reputation response capability to achieve healthy and sustainable development. He also noted that as a technology-intensive field with high social attention, the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry inevitably accompanies numerous legal disputes and online reputation storms. The suddenness and diffusiveness of online reputation require enterprises to respond effectively at the earliest opportunity, rather than relying solely on lengthy legal proceedings. President Jiang further emphasised that effective online reputation management must be combined with legal means—responding quickly in the online reputation arena, clarifying facts, stabilising expectations, while also being adept at using legal tools to pursue tort liability and safeguard legitimate rights and interests. He stressed that the “Center for Online Reputation Response and Governance” unveiled at this seminar was established precisely to address this common industry need. The Centre aims to systematically explore governance pathways combining law and online reputation, providing enterprises with practical solutions and capability empowerment. Finally, President Jiang stated that the Shanghai Internet Industry Federation will actively support the Centre’s work and jointly promote an industry ecosystem where online reputation is governed according to law and legal intervention is timely, providing dual safeguards for automakers to move forward steadily in the complex online environment.
The first roundtable discussion, themed “Interpretation of the Notice on Launching a Special Rectification Campaign Against Online Misconduct in the Automotive Industry Issued by Six Ministries,” was moderated by Jiang Miao, Secretary-General of the Centre. Panelists included: Shen Bin, Chief Commentator of The Paper; Chen Jianbai, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Migu Video; Zhang Xiaodong, Founder of Youdianshu View; and Liu Jinpei, Partner at Dacheng Shanghai. The panelists conducted an in-depth discussion on the Notice jointly issued by six ministries, jointly exploring how to build a clean cyberspace and safeguard high-quality industry development. They pointed out that as a national strategic industry, new energy vehicles’ reputation and communication are highly dependent on the online environment. However, current industry misconduct such as fake reviews, malicious defamation, and organised troll armies not only mislead consumers but may also deliver fatal blows to automakers. Automakers should embrace normal online reputation supervision with an open mindset, and media should uphold professional standards and avoid emotional expression. Panelists also shared practices in content review, rumour database construction, and qualification certification, emphasising that algorithmic incentives will be used to encourage the dissemination of quality content and improve the ecosystem at its source. Finally, the panelists unanimously agreed that the special rectification campaign is an important starting point for industry standardisation, and that in the future, continued efforts are needed to promote coordination among media, enterprises, platforms, and regulatory authorities, strengthen positive incentives and penalties for violations, and make authentic and trustworthy content the core driving force for healthy industry development.
The second roundtable discussion, themed “Research on Online Misconduct in the New Energy Vehicle Industry and Corporate Reputation Governance Pathways,” was moderated by Liu An, Deputy Secretary-General of the Centre. Panelists included: Yu Feng, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Internet Industry Federation; Li Daosheng, Dean of The Paper Research Institute; Zuo Hongbo, Deputy Director of Legal Affairs at Xiaomi; and Xiao Fei, Head of the Manufacturing Industry Group at Dacheng Shanghai. The panelists discussed emerging risks such as online troll armies, fake reviews, and AI-generated disinformation. They noted that as online marketing scales up, AI-generated content has exacerbated the proliferation of false information and black industry chains, forcing enterprises to invest substantial resources in online reputation response. The special rectification notice jointly issued by six departments precisely targets three major problems—illegal profiteering, exaggerated promotion, and malicious defamation—initially forming a four-dimensional governance framework of “departmental supervision, platform management, corporate self-discipline, and social oversight,” laying an institutional foundation for the industry’s sound development. Panelists also pointed out that current governance challenges are concentrated in “invisible” infringing content such as malicious attacks in comment sections and cyberbullying. Although platforms have established complaint mechanisms at the post level, effective monitoring and handling of insulting speech and personal attacks in user comment sections remain lacking. Finally, the panelists unanimously agreed that governing online misconduct in the automotive industry requires going beyond a single legal dimension to form a coordinated system of “industry standards + platform governance + legal regulation + online reputation guidance.” Especially against the backdrop of AI technology’s deep involvement in communication, only through multi-stakeholder coordination, technological empowerment, and refined rules can a clean, orderly, and sustainable online business environment be built.
With this, the Plaque-Unveiling Ceremony of the Dacheng Shanghai Center for Online Reputation Response and Governance and the Seminar on Online Misconduct in the New Energy Vehicle Industry and Corporate Reputation Governance concluded successfully. Looking ahead, Dacheng Shanghai will continue to thoroughly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the 23rd collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, actively practice the requirements of online ecological governance, and contribute its professional expertise to building long-term mechanisms and fostering a clean and healthy cyberspace. This seminar brought together experts and scholars from all sectors of the new energy industry to jointly explore online misconduct and corporate reputation governance in the new energy vehicle industry. Dacheng Shanghai will also take this seminar as an opportunity to continue upholding the values of “professionalism, innovation, collaboration, and win-win outcomes,” deepening its exploration and practice in the field of online reputation response and governance, providing more comprehensive, precise, and efficient legal services and professional support for the new energy vehicle industry, and helping enterprises move forward steadily in the complex and ever-changing online environment.