Shanghai has banned the relatives of senior officials from running private businesses in the city — and in some cases nationwide — to try to curb rampant nepotism.

Husbands and wives of officials running city departments, state enterprises, district governments and courts are barred from owning or running private businesses anywhere in the country. Children and children-in-law are forbidden from registering businesses in the city or any jurisdiction the official oversees.

The regulations are the strictest so far but do not appear to address some common abuses of power. Many children or spouses of officials register businesses through a complex web of corporate structures that take advantage of proxy agents, fake names or fake identity cards to disguise their shareholdings.