Abstract: To advance the construction of a unified national market in depth, it is imperative to establish an institutional framework characterized by rigid enforceability, clear boundaries, and positive guidance, through the pathways of rule of law, list-based management, and institutional mechanisms. The "Regulations on the Construction of a Unified National Market" are not merely general administrative regulations, but rather a fundamental framework for regulating market development. Their core lies in establishing the principle of market priority to effectively curb institutional arbitrage behaviors stemming from local protectionism; The "Two Lists" constitute a dual-track regulatory framework for local government behavior: the List of Prohibited Acts uses a "prohibition—retroactive enforcement—accountability" closed-loop mechanism to curb existing distortions, while the Investment Promotion List employs an "encouragement—categorization—tolerance for errors" mechanism to stimulate compliant innovation in new sectors. The synergy between the two can alleviate the governance paradox of "stifling innovation through overregulation and causing chaos through deregulation"; The "three institutional reforms" target the deep-seated incentives underlying the construction of a unified national market: the restructuring of the statistical system is key to correcting data distortions under the GDP competition model; the fiscal and tax system aims to address the negative externalities caused by tax haven competition; and the transformation of the performance evaluation system drives local governments to shift from being agents of growth to providers of public services. Based on this, we propose policy recommendations—including legislative technical approaches for regulations, specific provisions for the list, a cross-provincial fiscal and tax revenue-sharing mechanism, and an index measuring the effectiveness of provincial-level unified market construction—aimed at providing national agencies and local governments with a roadmap for institutional development that combines theoretical depth with practical feasibility.
