China's market regulator and other government departments have launched an exercise focused on e-commerce, with plans to crack down on areas such as unfair competition and the illegal trading of counterfeits or wildlife, state news agency Xinhua said.

The operation will run until December and will also look into areas such as livestreaming, which has in the past two years become a popular sales channel in China, Xinhua said on Saturday, referring to a recently issued notice from the State Administration of Market Supervision and other departments.

The exercise aims to ensure e-commerce platforms are fulfilling their responsibilities to protect the legitimate rights of consumers and operators as well as to maintain a fair and orderly market environment, it added.