Measures for the Administration of the Recordation and Initiation of Foreign Contracted Projects

Measures for the Administration of the Recordation and Initiation of Foreign Contracted Projects

Order of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China
(No. 2 [2024])

The Measures for the Administration of the Recordation and Initiation of Foreign Contracted Projects, as deliberated and adopted at the 10th executive meeting of the Ministry of Commerce on April 26, 2024, are hereby issued and shall come into force on July 1, 2024.

Minister: Wang Wentao
May 11, 2024

Measures for the Administration of the Recordation and Initiation of Foreign Contracted Projects

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 For the purposes of further improving the administration of foreign contracted projects and promoting the high-quality development of foreign project contracting, these Measures are developed in accordance with the Regulation on the Administration of Foreign Contracted Projects (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulation”), the Decision of the State Council to Amend and Repeal Certain Administrative Regulations (Order No. 676, State Council) and the Decision of the State Council to Cancel a Group of Administrative Licensing Items (No. 46 [2017], State Council) and other relevant regulations.
Article 2 “Foreign contracted projects (hereinafter referred to as “projects”)” to which these Measures apply means the overseas construction projects including engineering consulting, survey, design, supervision, construction, procurement and installation, operation and maintenance, and other projects contracted by enterprises registered in China (hereinafter referred to as “enterprises”).
For the purpose of these Measures, “specific projects” means projects contracted by countries that have no diplomatic relationship with China or whose diplomatic relationship with China has been downgraded, projects involving the interests of multiple countries, projects with high risks, and other specific projects determined in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation. The projects other than special projects are general projects.
Article 3 The Ministry of Commerce and the commerce departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities under separate state planning and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (hereinafter referred to as “provincial commerce departments”) shall adhere to ensuring both development and security, perform their functions in accordance with the law, strengthen the supervision of foreign contracted projects, proactively prevent and defuse various risks, standardize the process for enterprises' handling of project recordation and initiation and information reporting, improve administrative efficiency, and provide quality services.
Article 4 Enterprises contacting foreign projects shall neither damage China's national security and national interests nor violate China's laws and the international treaties or agreements that China has concluded or acceded to; and shall abide by the laws of the countries (regions) where the projects are located, strengthen risk prevention, avoid unfair competition, fulfill social responsibilities, and establish a good image.
Article 5 Enterprises contracting general projects shall undergo recordation formalities with commerce departments. The Ministry of Commerce shall be responsible for the recordation of general projects contracted by the headquarters of central enterprises (including joint stock limited companies listed as a whole); and provincial commerce departments shall be responsible for the recordation of the general projects contracted by local enterprises and enterprises affiliated to central enterprises which are registered within their administrative regions.
Article 6 The initiation of the specific projects contracted by enterprises shall be subject to approval by the Ministry of Commerce in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council; and provincial commerce departments shall be responsible for supervising and guiding the local enterprises and enterprise affiliated to central enterprises which are registered within their respective administrative regions in undergoing the project initiation formalities in a timely manner before contracting specific projects.
Article 7 Enterprises shall, under the principle of “making reports on all the projects that have undergone project recordation and initiation formalities,” report on a regular basis the information on the follow-up implementation of the projects to commerce departments and Chinese embassies (consulates) in the countries where the projects are located or the embassies (consulates) in charge. When an emergency occurs abroad, an enterprise shall deal with it in a timely and proper manner in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation, and immediately report to the Chinese embassy (consulate) in the country where the project is located or the embassy (consulate) in charge and relevant competent domestic departments. When reporting project information, an enterprise shall comply with relevant laws and regulations on data information protection at home and abroad.
Article 8 Enterprises that undergo the project recordation and initiation formalities through the foreign contracted project management system on the unified platform of the business system of the Ministry of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the “business system”) shall report on a regular basis the follow-up implementation of the projects. The Operating Guidelines for the Business System shall be issued by the Ministry of Commerce.
When an enterprise uses the business system for the first time, it shall first complete in a faithful manner the Registration Form for the Information on a Foreign Project Contracting Enterprise in the business system. If the registered information changes, the change formalities shall be undergone in the business system within 30 working days from the date of the change.
Chapter II Recordation Administration
Article 9 If an enterprise contracts a general project by bidding or bid negotiation, the recordation of the project shall be completed before bidding for the foreign project or bid negotiation. If an enterprise contracts a general project by other means, it shall complete the project recordation before the completion of the signing of the project contract.
Article 10 When an enterprise undergoes the formalities for the recordation of a general project, it shall complete the Recordation Form for a Foreign Contracted Project (hereinafter referred to as the “Project Recordation Form”) through the business system, and scan and upload to the business system the printed form to which the official seal of the entity is affixed. The enterprise shall be responsible for the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of the filed information. Where an enterprise considers that it is inappropriate to fill in any matter through the business system, it may submit paper materials separately after consultation with the commerce department.
Article 11 If a project is not subject to recordation administration, the Project Recordation Form is not filled out in a complete or accurate manner, or the project is not within the jurisdiction of the commerce department at the same level or the consultation with relevant departments or entities is required under relevant provisions, the commerce department shall notify the enterprise through the business system within three working days of receipt of the Project Recordation Form.
Article 12 If a project recordation application does not fall under the circumstances listed in Article 11 of these Measures, the commerce department shall grant recordation within three working days from the date of acceptance of the Project Recordation Form. Enterprises shall print the Recordation Receipt for a Foreign Contracted Project (hereinafter referred to as the “Recordation Receipt”) through the business system.
Article 13 If an enterprise fails to bid for an overseas project or to sign a project contract within two years from the date when it obtains the Recordation Receipt, the Recordation Receipt shall be automatically invalidated.
Article 14 If the information specified in the Recordation Receipt changes, an enterprise shall, within 30 working days from the date of the change, complete the Recordation Change Form for a Foreign Contracted Project (hereinafter referred to as the “Recordation Change Form”), and scan and upload to the business system......