East China's Zhejiang province will carry out a campaign to break down local protection and market segmentation, said the Provincial Administration for Market Regulation.

The campaign, which started on April 14 and lasts till October, aims to remove the institutional obstacles that hinder the efficient allocation of production factors and ensure the smooth circulation of goods and services, according to the administration.

The campaign will cover a wide range of sectors, including education, medical and health services, engineering construction, public utilities, transportation, insurance, and government procurement.

The campaign in Zhejiang is part of the national effort to protect and spur the vitality of market entities, and build a unified domestic market that is open, highly efficient, rules-based, and fair for all competitors. The central government had on Sunday released a guideline calling for the breakdown of local protection and market segmentation and accelerating the construction of a unified market.

Authorities in Zhejiang will target four types of administrative power abuses that give rise to local protection and market segmentation: actions that hinder the free circulation of goods and services, actions that exclude or restrict further out-of-town operators, actions that directly or indirectly restrict business transactions, and actions that formulate regulations excluding or restricting competition.

Zhejiang, which has in recent years beefed up reviews on fair competition and stepped up anti-monopoly efforts, will continue to explore the development of a long-term mechanism that would eliminate local protection and market segmentation, said the administration.