· Document Number：Letter No. 93 [2018] of the State Council

· Area of Law： E-Commerce

· Level of Authority： Regulatory Documents of the State Council

· Date issued：07-24-2018

· Effective Date：07-24-2018

· Issuing Authority： State Council

· Status： Effective

Official Reply of the State Council on Approving the Establishment of Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zones in Beijing and Other 21 Cities
(Letter No. 93 [2018] of the State Council)
The People's Governments of Beijing Municipality, Hebei Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Helongjiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, Shandong Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hainan Province, Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province, Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province; and the Ministry of Commerce:
Your request of instructions on establishing cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones has been received. The following reply is hereby made:
I. The establishment of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones in Beijing, Huhhot, Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin, Nanjing, Nanchang, Wuhan, Changsha, Nanning, Haikou, Guiyang, Kunming, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Xiamen, Tangshan, Wuxi, Weihai, Zhuhai, Dongguan, and Yiwu is hereby approved, which are respectively named as China (City Name) Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone, and the specific implementation plans will be issued respectively by the people's governments at the provincial level in the places where the cities are located.
II. In the construction of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones (hereinafter referred to as the comprehensive pilot zones), you shall fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guidance, keep to the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, advance the “Five-pronged Overall Plan” for developing Chinese socialism (All-round economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress) and promote the “Four-pronged Comprehensives” strategy (Comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, driving reform to a deeper level, governing the country in accordance with the law, and enforcing strict Party discipline), uphold the new concept of development, comprehensively implement the innovation-driven development strategy, duplicate and popularize the experiences and practices of the previous two batches of comprehensive pilot zones, highlight local characteristics and advantages based on the local circumstances, and make efforts to conduct pilot programs in terms of technical standards, business process, regulatory mode, information construction and other aspects relating to the business-to-business (B2B) model for cross-border e-commerce, so as to explore new experiences and practices for promoting the sound development of cross-border e-commerce nationwide.
III. The relevant departments and the people's governments of the relevant provinces and municipalities shall made efforts to deepen the reforms in combining delegation with administration, and optimizing services in foreign trade, take the establishment of cross-border e-commerce as the breakthrough, give strong support to the bold exploration and innovative development of the comprehensive pilot zones, further simplify the process and streamline approvals in the aspects of logistics, warehousing and customs clearance, optimize the supporting policies in such areas as integrated customs clearance and information sharing, shore up efforts to build an inclusive and effective prudential regulation in an innovative manner, and push forward international trade liberalization, facilitation and new forms of business. In the meanwhile, they shall effectively control the risks in pilot programs and experiments, and shall, on the basis of guaranteeing the state security, network security, transaction security, cross-border biological safety, and quality safety of imported and exported commodities and effectively preventing transaction risks, adhere to the regulation in the process of development and the development under regulation, so as to create a favorable business environment for various market participants in the comprehensive pilot zones to participate in market competition on an equal footing.
IV. The people's governments of the relevant provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall effectively strengthen the organization and leadership of the construction of the comprehensive pilot zones, improve mechanisms, clarify the division of responsibilities, implement responsibilities, and promote the construction and development of the comprehensive pilot zones in a powerful, orderly and effective manner; shall, under the guidance of the Ministry of Commerce and other departments, revise and improve the specific implementation plans as soon as possible, and effectively organize the implementation thereof; shall further specify pilot programs, highlight focuses, implement the innovation-driven development strategy, maximize the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources, effectively guide social resources, allocate public resources in a reasonable manner, and promote the construction of the comprehensive pilot zones in a solid manner; and shall establish and improve the cross-border e-commerce information technology management mechanisms, and, according to the management needs of the relevant departments, provide the relevant electronic information in a timely manner. The important policies and major construction projects involved in the construction of the comprehensive pilot zones shall be reported for approval under the prescribed procedures.
V. The relevant departments of the State Council shall, according to the division of functions, strengthen guidance and services; and shall, under the principles of “encouraging innovation, tolerance and prudence”, adhere to the problem-oriented approach, conduct the in-depth investigation and research, innovate policies and measures, and strengthen communication and coordination, and further create a favorable environment for the development of the comprehensive pilot zones. The Ministry of Commerce shall play a leading role in strengthening comprehensive coordination, follow-up analysis and supervisory inspection, evaluating the achievements of the pilot program of the comprehensive pilot zones in due time, and reporting major issues and circumstances to the State Council in a timely manner.
The State Council
July 24, 2018