您的位置: 首页 » 法律资料网 » 法律法规 »

国务院办公厅转发商务部等部门关于加强境外中资企业机构与人员安全保护工作意见的通知

时间:2024-07-01 16:49:54 来源: 法律资料网 作者:法律资料网 阅读:8042
下载地址: 点击此处下载

国务院办公厅转发商务部等部门关于加强境外中资企业机构与人员安全保护工作意见的通知

国务院办公厅转发商务部


国务院办公厅转发商务部等部门关于加强境外中资企业机构与人员安全保护工作意见的通知

国办发〔2005〕48 号


各省、自治区、直辖市人民政府,国务院各部委、各直属机构:
  商务部、外交部、国资委《关于加强境外中资企业机构与人员安全保护工作的意见》已经国务院同意,现转发给你们,请认真贯彻执行。

国务院办公厅
二○○五年九月二十八日



关于加强境外中资企业机构与人员
安全保护工作的意见
商务部 外交部 国资委

  随着我国对外开放不断扩大和“走出去”战略的深入实施,境外中资企业、机构与人员迅速增多,地域分布日趋广泛。为维护我公民的生命财产安全和国家利益,保障“走出去”战略顺利实施,促进对外经济合作的发展,根据《国家涉外突发事件应急预案》(国办函〔2005〕59号)等相关规定,现就做好境外中资企业、机构与人员安全保护工作提出以下意见:
  一、树立全面的安全观和发展观
  各地区、各有关部门和单位要以邓小平理论和“三个代表”重要思想为指导,坚持执政为民、以人为本的基本原则,从全局和战略的高度,进一步提高对境外中资企业、机构与人员所面临安全形势的认识,认真指导有关企业、机构与人员认清在境外特别是在安全问题突出国家和地区开展经济活动面临的安全风险,建立健全工作协调、应急处置和内部防范等机制,正确处理安全与发展的关系,树立发展是根本、安全是保障,发展是硬道理、安全是大前提的安全观和发展观;坚决摒弃片面或单纯追求经济效益的思想,牢固树立人民群众生命财产安全高于一切的观念;加强风险防范意识,落实预防为主、防范处置并重的要求;及时果断处置突发事件,避免或最大程度地减少我公民生命财产损失,维护我国家利益。
  二、加强安全教育和管理,强化安全意识
  各地区、各有关部门和单位要切实做好境外中资企业、机构与人员出境前后的安全教育和管理工作。按照“谁派出,谁负责”的原则,要求派出企业、机构负责对外派人员进行安全教育和应急培训,增强其安全防范意识和自我保护能力。进一步严格驻外企业、机构与人员的管理,对安全问题突出的国家和地区要制订驻外人员行为守则,就行动范围、人员交际及突发事件应急处理方法和联系方式等予以规范和指导。各地区、各有关部门和单位要对所派出企业、机构的安全教育和管理工作提出明确要求并做好监督检查。外交部、公安部、劳动保障部、铁道部、交通部、商务部、国资委、民航总局等部门在为出境人员提供相关服务时,要有针对性地加强宣传和指导,方便其学习掌握必要的安全知识。
  三、严格履行对外经济合作业务管理规定,切实把好安全关
  对国内企业在境外开办企业、开展工程承包和劳务合作等业务,有关主管部门在审批核准时,应事先就当地安全形势征求驻外使领馆的意见;要从国别(地区)投资环境、投资导向政策、安全状况、双边关系、地区合理布局、相关国际义务、保障企业合法权益等方面进行认真审核,必要时,可实行安全一票否决。对在安全问题突出的国家和地区开展业务活动的,应重点加强安全评估和企业权益保障。要求核准的企业应凭主管部门的批准证书或其他批复文件,及时到驻外使领馆登记报到,并保持经常联系。承担援外项目建设任务的企业,应根据援外管理规定,自觉接受驻外使领馆的领导。
  四、完善信息收集和报送制度,建立安全风险预警机制
  各地区、各有关部门和单位要建立和完善境外企业、机构与人员应对突发事件的预警机制。外交部、公安部、安全部、商务部等部门及驻外使领馆等驻外机构要加强对安全问题突出的国家和地区有关政治经济形势、民族宗教矛盾、社会治安状况、恐怖主义活动等信息的收集工作,及时掌握境外各种可能危及我国企业、机构与人员安全的情报信息。各地区、各有关部门及驻外使领馆要及时向境外中资企业、机构通报所在国家(地区)的安全形势,使其对自身安全状况有正确认识和评估。外交部、商务部等部门要对不同国家和地区的安全状况进行动态综合评估,对境外可能发生涉我突发事件的预警信息,报境外中国公民和机构安全保护工作部际联席会议办公室汇总,并由其商有关部门或单位,按各自职责分工,适时以相应方式经授权发布,提醒我境外企业和人员采取适当预防和自我保护措施。
  五、建立和完善内部安全防范与应急处置机制
  各地区、各有关部门和单位要指导和监督相关企业、机构建立组织机构,统一协调安全工作。在安全问题突出的国家和地区开展经营活动,特别是承担重大援建项目和投资、承包工程、劳务等对外经济合作项目建设任务的企业,要建立安全工作机构和应急处置机制,制订安全防范措施和应急预案,做到机制完善、职责明确、措施到位。境外中资企业和机构要在工作、生活区域配备必要的安全保卫设施,雇佣有防护能力的当地保安,必要时聘请武装军警,增强防护能力。
  外交部、公安部、安全部、商务部、国资委等部门根据需要组成境外安全巡查工作组,对在安全问题突出的国家和地区的对外经济合作项目尤其是重点项目建设进行安全检查和指导。
  六、充分利用现有工作机制,加强部门间的协作配合
  充分利用境外中国公民和机构安全保护工作部际联席会议制度和驻外使领馆牵头、其他驻外机构配合的我国境外人员和机构安全保护应急协调处理机制,进一步加强外交部、公安部、安全部、财政部、交通部、商务部、卫生部、国资委、民航总局等部门之间的沟通、交流与协作,重点对境外领事保护、境外企业和项目管理、应急资金支持、交通运输、医疗救护、保险保障等工作进行协调,合力推进相关法律法规建设,建立健全安全防范和应急处置工作机制,互通安全情报等,共同做好境外中资企业、机构与人员安全保护工作。
  七、进一步发挥驻外使领馆的作用
  驻外使领馆要加大对外交涉力度,做好驻在国军队、内务、警察等部门的工作,争取其为我国境外中资企业、机构与人员安全保护工作提供更多帮助。要与境外中资企业、机构及援建、承包、劳务企业加强联系,保持信息畅通。在发生境外涉我突发事件时,除按照有关应急预案的规定做好事发现场先期处置等工作外,应积极协助我国境外中资企业、机构与人员在遭受突发安全侵害后向所在国索赔,争取合理赔偿。对涉及我国境外企业、机构与人员的一般性安全事件,继续做好领事保护工作。
  八、建立项目安全风险评估和安全成本核算制度,加强境外人员与机构的保险保障
  各有关企业除了要做好对外经济合作项目的商业评估外,还要对项目所在国家和地区的安全状况进行风险评估,根据不同的安全风险,相应制订分类管理的安保措施,并把安全防护费用计入成本。要逐步推行符合国际惯例的合同条款,把安全保障条款纳入安全问题突出的国家和地区项目协议或合同,把安全投入成本纳入承包项目预算。对于援外项目,由相关部门商承办企业对受援国安全环境进行风险评估和安全成本核算,并将有关费用纳入援外项目预算。
  劳动保障部要继续研究做好与有关国家签订双边社会保险协定的工作,更好地维护境外中资企业、机构与人员的社会保障权益。保险机构要开发、完善与境外人员和机构安全保护相关的险种。各派出企业必须为外派人员购买境外人身意外伤害、职业暴露等保险,提高境外人员和机构的抗风险能力。
  九、妥善处理与所在国家(地区)居民及团体的利益关系,积极开展本地化经营
  各有关企业开展对外经济合作业务时,要充分考虑所在国家(地区)居民和团体的利益,包括与被雇佣者的利益关系,避免引发商业纠纷,尤其要防止陷入当地利益冲突。要加强与所在国家(地区)政府有关部门、社会团体及其他相关方面的联系与沟通,广泛争取理解和支持,增进友谊,避免或减少矛盾,以便在突发危险时能得到及时保护和救助。要着眼于企业长远发展,在安全问题突出的国家和地区推进项目本地化经营,合理确定中方人员比例,通过采取本地分包等方式帮助扩大本地就业,尽可能降低我境外人员安全风险。
  十、完善相关法律法规,把境外中资企业、机构与人员安全保护工作纳入法制化轨道
  有关部门要借鉴世界主要国家保护境外人员和机构的做法,结合我国实际情况,推动尽快出台对外援助、对外投资、对外承包工程及劳务合作等方面的法规,并对现有的政策规定进行修订、补充和完善,增加安全保护条款。要认真研究对外经济合作项目涉及的合同文本、突发事件职责分工、善后处理、伤亡人员抚恤补偿标准、保险理赔等问题并作出明确规定。
  十一、加强领导,落实责任
  各地区、各有关部门和单位要切实加强对境外中资企业、机构与人员安全保护工作的领导,主要负责同志亲自抓,把这项工作列入重要议事日程。要坚持以人为本、预防为主、统一领导、分级负责、依法办事、处置果断的方针,加强宣传教育,明确职责分工,制订完善相应措施和工作机制,加强督促检查,确保各项安全保护工作得到充分落实。对于敷衍塞责、严重失职的地方、部门及单位,要依法追究有关领导和人员的责任。


南通市人民政府关于印发《南通市餐饮业污染防治管理办法》的通知

江苏省南通市人民政府


南通市人民政府关于印发《南通市餐饮业污染防治管理办法》的通知




各县(市)、区人民政府,市经济技术开发区管委会,市各委、办、局,市各直属单位:

  《南通市餐饮业污染防治管理办法》已经2011年7月18日市十三届人民政府第58次常务会议审议通过,现予印发施行。



  二○一一年七月十九日



南通市餐饮业污染防治管理办法

  第一条 为加强对餐饮业的环境管理,根据《中华人民共和国环境保护法》、《中华人民共和国环境影响评价法》和《建设项目环境保护管理条例》等有关法律、法规,结合本市实际,制定本办法。

  第二条 凡在本市市区和县属建制镇内从事餐饮服务的单位和个人,均应当遵守本办法。

  第三条 本办法所称餐饮业,是指通过即时加工制作、商业销售和服务性劳动等手段,向消费者提供食品、食品消费场所和设施的食品生产经营行业,包括餐馆、小吃店、快餐店、对外开放的食堂和提供餐饮服务的宾馆、浴场、歌舞厅、咖啡馆、茶座等单位。

  第四条 市、县(市)环境保护行政主管部门对本行政区域内的餐饮业污染防治工作实施统一监督管理。区环境保护行政主管部门负责辖区范围内餐饮业污染的监督管理工作,查处未依法办理环境影响评价审批手续的行为。

  第五条 建立市区餐饮业污染防治工作责任制,明确相关行政管理部门职能分工。

  规划部门负责依法做好餐饮业建设项目的选址、建设用地规划许可及建设工程规划许可。

  建设部门依法做好餐饮业建设项目的施工许可、竣工验收备案等工作。

  卫生部门负责依法核发餐饮服务许可证,依法查处无证经营餐饮的行为。

  工商部门负责依法核发餐饮经营店营业执照,依法查处无照经营餐饮的行为。

  城管部门负责监督餐饮经营店店容店貌符合城市容貌标准,对餐厨废弃物进行监督管理。

  其他相关行政管理部门、各区人民政府(管委会)以及街道办事处(乡镇人民政府)、社区居(村)委会等基层组织,应根据各自职责共同做好餐饮业污染防治管理工作。

  第六条 城市改造和开发建设应当规划和建设餐饮业相对集中的商业经营区域。餐饮业选址应当符合城市规划、环境保护和城市商业网点布局的要求。

  第七条 不得在下列区域和场所新建、改建、扩建餐饮业项目:

  (一)非经营性房屋;

  (二)不具备设立专用烟道的商住房屋;

  (三)在城市居住区、居住小区内按照规划设计要求配套的,与相邻最近居民住宅边界的直线距离小于30米的房屋;

  (四)饮用水地表水源一级保护区域;

  (五)城市建成区内不具备接入城市排污总管条件的区域;

  (六)距离粪坑、污水池、垃圾场(站)、旱厕等污染源小于25米的区域;

  (七)江、河水面区域;

  (八)其他依法需要特殊保护的区域。

  在上述场所和区域内申请兴办餐饮业项目的,有关行政主管部门不得批准。

  第八条 利用物业管理用房、场地、公共设施等新建、改建、扩建餐饮业项目的,应当经专有部分占建筑物总面积2/3以上的业主且占总人数2/3以上的业主同意。

  物业所有人或管理人不得将物业出租、出借给其他单位或个人无证照兴办餐饮业项目。

  第九条 餐饮业项目应达到下列污染防治要求:

  (一)配置经国家认可的单位检测合格的油烟净化装置、废气净化装置,油烟排气筒的设置当符合国家有关标准,油烟排放口位置应距离居民住宅、医院或者学校10米以上,油烟排放应符合GB18483-2001《饮食业油烟排放标准(试行)》;

  (二)配置污水处理设施,上下水设施齐备,安装油水隔离池、油水分离器等,污水排放符合GB8978-1996《污水综合排放标准》和CJ343-2010《污水排入城市下水道水质标准》;

  (三)安装符合环保要求的消音、降噪设备,在主要街道两侧和重点地区的临街建筑物外立面直接朝向人行道安装空调装置的,其安装架底距地面应当大于2米,确因客观条件限制的,不得小于1.9米,在居民门窗附近安装空调装置的,不得直接朝向居民门窗等敏感点,且距离应大于3米;

  (四)具有防蝇、防鼠、防虫、防潮设施和相关措施;

  (五)设置符合标准的餐厨废弃物收集容器,分类收集餐厨废弃物和非餐厨废弃物。

  第十条 新建、改建、扩建餐饮业项目,应当按照《建设项目环境保护分类管理名录》依法办理环境影响评价文件审批手续。其中餐饮业项目在6 个基准灶头以上,涉及环境敏感区的应提交环境影响报告表,其他的应填写环境影响登记表。

  环境保护行政主管部门应当自收到环境影响评价文件之日起15日内,作出审批决定并书面通知建设单位。

  第十一条 用于餐饮业的建筑物在设计时应当设计餐饮业专用烟道、污水排放设施,安排废气、噪声等污染防治设施的安装位置。

  餐饮业建设项目的防治污染设施必须与主体工程同时设计、同时施工、同时投产使用。防治污染设施必须经原审批环境影响评价文件的环境保护行政主管部门验收合格后,该建设项目方可投入生产或者使用。

  防治污染设施不得擅自拆除或者闲置,确有必要拆除或者闲置的,必须征得所在地的环境保护行政主管部门同意。

  第十二条 应当办理环境影响评价文件审批手续的餐饮业建设项目,未经环境保护行政主管部门审查或审查后未予批准的,规划、建设等项目相关审批部门不得办理相关许可手续,建设单位不得开工建设。

  需要办理营业执照的餐饮业项目,应当在办理营业执照前办理环境影响评价文件审批手续及餐饮服务许可证。未办理的,工商行政管理部门不予核发工商营业执照。

  第十三条 环保、卫生、消防等相关部门应编制餐饮业经营审批手册,工商行政管理部门在受理餐饮业经营注册登记时,要协助相关部门向申请人发放审批手册,并提醒其依法办理相关审批手续。

  第十四条 工商、环保、卫生、城管、商务、消防等相关部门应加强审批信息沟通协作。工商行政管理部门将企业名称预先核准信息通报环保、卫生、城管、商务、消防等相关部门后,相关部门应提前介入,对不符合法律法规要求的餐饮业项目及时处理,并将处理意见及时通报工商行政管理部门。

  第十五条 餐饮业项目污染防治设施建成后,应当在3个月内申请竣工验收。环境保护行政主管部门应当在收到申请之日起15日内完成竣工验收,出具验收意见。

  污染防治设施未建成或者污染防治设施未通过竣工验收的,不得营业。

  第十六条 餐饮业经营者在经营活动中必须遵守下列规定:

  (一)使用天然气、煤气、液化石油气、电等清洁能源,现有餐饮业项目尚未使用清洁能源的,应当在环境保护行政主管部门规定的期限内改用清洁能源;

  (二)油烟净化装置和油水分离设施应当根据产品的技术要求定期进行清洁维护保养,保证油烟净化装置、油水分离等设施正常运行,并保存连续6个月的维护保养记录;

  (三)安装空调器室外机组、通风和噪声排放装置等设备应当符合相应的规范,符合城市容貌标准和区域环境噪声标准;

  (四)经营设施、设备符合国家有关规定,使用节能、节约型设施设备和用品,降低能源与物品消耗,防止景观照明中过度照明等超能耗标准行为,减少使用一次性木筷子等;

  (五)直接向环境排放污染物的,应依法申报登记污染物排放情况并缴纳排污费。

  第十七条 餐饮业经营者在经营活动中禁止下列行为:

  (一)使用一次性不可降解发泡塑料餐(饮)具、不可自然降解塑料袋和含磷洗涤剂;

  (二)不经过油烟排气筒或专用烟道无组织排放油烟、经城市雨水管道或污水管道排放油烟;

  (三)乱倒乱堆餐厨废弃物,将餐厨废弃物直接排入雨水管道、污水管道、河道、湖泊、水库、沟渠和公共厕所;

  (四)将餐厨废弃物交给未办理餐厨废弃物收集、运输服务许可证的单位处理;

  (五)在居民住宅区及公共道路上、河道管理范围内及餐饮服务经营场所所在建筑物周边区域进行净菜、洗涤等与提供餐饮业经营有关的污染环境的作业活动。

  第十八条 本办法实施前依法设立的餐饮业项目不符合本办法第七条规定的,逐步限期调整、搬迁、改造。

  第十九条 环保部门和其他行政管理部门应当加强对餐饮服务经营场所环境保护的执法检查,并向社会公布检查结果。被检查者应当配合检查,如实反映情况,提供与检查内容有关的资料,不得隐瞒、拒绝或者阻挠执法人员检查。

  第二十条 对餐饮服务环境污染的举报和投诉,环保部门应当在收到举报或者投诉之日起5个工作日内赴现场检查取证,并及时将处理结果告知举报人或者投诉人。涉及其他相关职能部门处理的事项,及时进行移交处理,并告知举报人或者投诉人。

  第二十一条 违反本办法规定的,由环保、工商、卫生、规划、建设、城管、房产、公安、文广新等行政管理部门依照各自职责分别依法查处,并及时通报相关部门。

  第二十二条 行政主管部门的工作人员玩忽职守、滥用职权、徇私舞弊的,由其主管部门或行政监察部门进行行政责任追究;构成犯罪的,依法追究刑事责任。

  第二十三条 本办法自2011年9月1日起施行。


Partnership - New option for foreign investment in China

Zhiguo Li


 A new door to partnership is opened by the Chinese government to the foreign investors under this post-financial turmoil era in order to attract more foreign investment and provide more employment. On November 25, 2009, the State Council of the PRC promulgated the Measures for the Administration on the Establishment of Partnership Business by Foreign Enterprises or Individuals in China adopted at the 77th executive meeting of the State Council on August 19, 2009, which shall come into effect as of March 1, 2010 (“the Foreign Partnership Measures”). The Foreign Partnership Measures is regarded as supplementary to the Partnership Business Law of the People's Republic of China (“the Partnership Law”), article 108 of which provides that the measures for the administration on the establishment of partnership business by foreign enterprises or individuals shall be formulated by the State Council. Therefore the Partnership Law is the basic law for foreign enterprises or individuals (collectively “foreign partners”) to establish the partnership business in China (“foreign partnership”).

 The initial effort to formulate this kind of measures with the authorization of the Partnership Law can be tracked to January 2007 when the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOC), as requested by the Legislative Affair Office of the State Council, promulgated a draft of the Measures for the Administration on the Foreign Funded Partnership Business (“the Draft”) for public consultation. The Draft mostly reflect the intention of the MOC to remain the approval authority for the foreign partnerships as it does in the setup of the other three types of FIEs, such as equity joint venture, contractual joint venture and wholly foreign owned enterprise (i.e., EJV, CJV and WFOE, collectively FIEs). But the final Foreign Partnership Measures kick the MOC and its local branches (“the MOC local branches”) out from the charging authority with the replacement by the local authorized branch of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC local branch), which is unexpected to but welcome by the professionals and entrepreneurs. This article will do analysis on the Foreign Partnership Measures from four perspectives: foreign partnership models, foreign partners’ qualification, thresholds and registration of the foreign partnership, in aiming to describe a clear foreign partnership roadmap for foreign partners.


Foreign Partnership Models

 Foreign partners can set up the foreign partnership in China in three models: a. with the other foreign partners; b. with the Chinese individuals, legal persons and the other organizations registered and located in Mainland China; c. through participating the existing domestic partnership.

 In the models above, the foreign partners have the option to take the form of general partnership, limited liability partnership or limited partnership stipulated by the Partnership Law, among which the limited liability partnership is only for the professional institutions such as law firms and accounting firms. Comparing with model a and b, model c seems more feasible and time-and-cost saving for the foreign partners. A complete due diligence will be conducted in order to minimize the risk from the operation of the domestic partnership before the participation date of the foreign partners. In consideration of the current administration and nature of the partnerships, lack of credibility and the other elements in China, it will be difficult to get a complete due diligence report satisfied with the foreign partners. Therefore, models a and b are highly recommended. Which model of a or b take needs the consideration and balance of the foreign partners based on their business plan, legal structuring, such as whether foreign partners themselves intend to do the business competing with the foreign partnership and how to exit by transferring the contribution in the partnership, ect., and the thresholds discussed below.

Foreign Partners’ Qualification

 The difference in the expression on the partners from overseas and China should be noted. Foreign partners only include foreign enterprises and individuals. The Chinese partners include Chinese individuals, legal persons and the other organizations. There is no unified legal interpretation on the “enterprise”, though mostly it refers to the profitable organizations. This uncertainty may come from the prudency of the legislator of China on the qualifications of foreign partners. Under article 184 of the Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues concerning the Implementation of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China for Trial (“the Opinions”), this expression of “enterprise” on the foreign partners allow the SAIC local branch more discretion to judge whether the foreign partner is a qualified “enterprise” or not in accordance with the relevant Chinese laws. In this scenario, the foreign partners need to note that they should not fall into the types of entities prescribed in article 3 of the Partnership Law if they aim to be a general partner, which says that wholly state-funded company, state-owned company, listed company, public-welfare-oriented institution or social organization may not become a general partner.

 Regarding the foreign individuals, they must have full capacity for civil conduct in accordance with article 14 of the Partnership Law. The international private law problem will also be involved here. Pursuant to article 180 of the Opinions, the foreign individuals who conduct civil activities in the territory of China, shall be regarded as having full capacity for civil conduct if they have that in accordance with China laws, no matter what their national laws requires for their capacity for civil conduct. Foreign individuals at or above the age of 18 years old are qualified to be the foreign partners if they are not mentally ill.

Thresholds for Foreign Partnership

 Some thresholds, such as the approval by the MOC, imposed on the FIEs are lifted for foreign partnership. This means that the foreign partnership and the domestic partnership will be treated with unified threshold in the aspect of approval, which will definitely reduce the criticism from the international community, but may cause more from the domestic public (including those FIEs). But it does not mean that there will be no thresholds review on foreign partnership.

 Article 3 of the Foreign Partnership Measures lists the general thresholds for the foreign partnerships. The establishment of foreign partnership shall abide by the Partnership Law and the other relevant laws, regulations and rules, and comply with the industrial policies for foreign investment. These general thresholds need to be analyzed together with the reference to the other relevant laws, regulations, rules and policies.

 First, the threshold provided by the Partnership Law is the pre-approval on the business scope. Where the business cope of a foreign partnership contains any item, for example oil distribution, that is subject to approval prior to registration according to laws or regulations, such approval shall be sought in advance and submitted at the time of registration with SAIC local branch. These pre-approvals involve , but not limited to, the Ministry of Land, the Ministry of Transport, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, etc., which depends on the business of the foreign partnership.

 Second, the Provisions on Guiding the Orientation of Foreign Investment (2002) and the Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries (revised in 2007) (collectively “foreign investment industrial policies”) set up the industrial threshold for the foreign partnerships, which are the industrial policy basis for the SAIC local branch to review registration application to establish foreign partnership in China. This will obviously increase the working load of the SAIC local branches since they are lack of the experience in this kind of foreign investment industrial policies review. We may also anticipate that there might be different explanation and implementations on the above two documents, which will be the problem faced by those foreign partners who submit the application in the first half year after the Foreign Partnership Measures comes into force on March 1, 2010.

 The third threshold is that the verification is required if the project invested by the foreign partners falls into the scope described in the Provisional Measures Governing Verification of Foreign Invested Projects. The charging authority is the National Development and Reform Commission and its local branches, which depending on the amount of the total investment and the nature of the project.

 It is necessary to note the forth threshold hidden in the important expression in article 3 of the Foreign Partnership Measures, which put the “rules” as the legal basis for the establishment of foreign partnerships. In the legal system of China, it indicates that the State Council authorizes the ministries or departments under the State Council (“the Ministries”) to issue necessary “rules” applicable to foreign partnerships. It also reflects that the existing valid “rules” issued by the Ministries, including those applicable to the representative offices opened by foreign law firms in China, are still the barrier for the foreign partners to access the local market in China.

 The final threshold comes from the commitment of China in its WTO accession. Although the State Council encourages those foreign partners who have advanced technology and management experience to establish foreign partnership in China with the purpose to facilitate the development of the modern service industry, at this stage, the services industries may only limited to those listed in the Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services (Annex 9 of the Protocol on the Accession of the People’s Republic of China) and the openness will not be wider than the commitments therein.

Registration of the Foreign Partnership

 In the FIEs regime, all investments by foreign investors need the pre-approvals of the MOC or MOC local branches. In the approval process, the MOC or MOC local branches will review, but not limited to, the content of the application, the article of associations of FIEs and contracts signed by the parties if any. Generally, this approval procedure will take 5 working days to 90 working days depending on the nature and total investment of the project. In this regard, the cancel of this approval for the foreign partnership will significantly escalate the speed of the establishment in the procedural stage and to a great extent reduce the uncertainty from the MOC or MOC local branches.

 The Foreign Partnership Measures stipulates that the representative or agent of all the partners shall submit the establishment application only to the SAIC local branch and not the SAIC. The submission shall include, besides the documents required by the Regulations on the Administration of Registration of Partnership Business (revised in 2007, “Partnership Registration Regulation”), the explanation on compliance of the foreign partnership with the foreign investment industrial policies, which will ease the review by the SAIC local branch. In this regard, the review may not be limited to the formality as provided in article 16 of Partnership Registration Regulation. It seems impossible for the SAIC local branch to issue the license to the foreign partnership on the spot. In this scenario, the SAIC local branch shall make a decision on whether to issue the license to the foreign partnership within 20 working days after the date it accepts the complete application.

 The Foreign Partnership Measures is the second case for MOC and MOC local branches to lose approval authority in the recent years. The first case is for the representative office opened by most of foreign enterprises in China since 2004. Although the loss of approval authority, the MOC local branches at the same level with the SAIC local branches accepting the application for establishment of foreign partnership shall be advised the registration information (including the establishment, alteration and cancel) of the foreign partnerships by the latter.

Conclusion

 For those foreign partners not interested in establishing professional foreign partnerships such as law firms in China, they are now can access the Chinese market with a presence in the option of partnership. The approval procedures involved with the MOC or its local branches as set up for FIEs has been removed. The minimum investment (registered capital) requirement for FIEs has been reduced to RMB30,000 (RMB100,000 for one-person limited liability company) by the Company Law of the People's Republic of China (revised in 2005), the Foreign Partnership Measures leave the minimum investment open to the partners. The foreign partners can contribute with the currency (freely exchanged foreign currency or legally earned RMB), in kind, IPR, land use right, the other properties or labor service (limited to general partners) to the foreign partnerships. All these will minimize the cost for foreign partners to achieve their goal of profit maximization in China. But those enterprises focusing on the investment business, such as the foreign-funded venture capital investment enterprises and foreign-funded investment companies, are excluded from the Foreign Partnership Measures due to lack of experience in administrating this kind of enterprises by the government.