Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has ceased online sales of medicines on its Tmall platform, citing changes in government regulation.
国内电商巨头阿里巴巴集团近日宣称，由于政府政策变化，已暂停旗下天猫平台的网上售药业务。
Tmall has received a notice from the China Food and Drug Administration's (CFDA) Hebei province branch, requiring "urgent control measures relating to drug products".
天猫收到了河北省食品药品监督管理局的通知，要求对药品类目采取紧急管控措施。
Tmall said in a statement it will cooperate and stop the online medicine retail business on the third-party platform.
天猫在声明中表示，将配合停止第三方平台药品网上零售业务。

The new regulations come as a surprise as an increasing number of e-commerce companies plan to tap into the online sales of over-the-counter medicines. The CFDA did not elaborate on the reason why sales were halted.
由于越来越多的电商企业计划进军非处方药网上销售市场，这一新规的出台颇为出人意料。食品药品监督管理局目前也并没有详细说明为什么药物销售被叫停。
An industrial insider, who refused to be named, said the regulation did not only apply to Tmall.
一位拒绝透露姓名的有业内人士表示，这一规定并不只适用于天猫。
Other e-commerce companiesinvolved in selling drugs on third-party platforms, such as Yhd.com, are expected to receive similar orders from local food and drug authorities.
从事第三方平台药品网上零售的其他电商企业，比如一号店，也将收到当地食药监局的类似通知。