MOFTEC Procedures for the Management of Restricted Technology Export, November 1998

Procedures for the Management of Restricted Technology Export

Circular Issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation
and the Ministry of Science and Technology

(1998 Waijingmaojifa No. 803)

26 November 1998

The foreign economic and trade commissions (departments and bureaus) and science and technology commissions of all provinces, regions, municipalities, and cities with the same authority for making economic decisions as a province, and all companies directly under various ministries and central commissions:

In accordance with the "Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China," the state is to issue permits for restricted technology export. The "Procedures for the Management of Restricted Technology Export" are hereby printed and distributed and the "Catalogue of Technology Whose Export Is Banned or Restricted in China," promulgated. Please seriously implement them. Please report any problem arising in the process of implementation to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (The Science and Technology Development and Technology Import and Export Corporation) in order to make further improvement.

Annex:

I. Procedures for the Management of Restricted Technology Export

II. Catalogue of Technology Whose Export Is Banned or Restricted in China

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation
The Ministry of Science and Technology

28 October 1998

Annex I Procedures for the Management of Restricted Technology Export

Article 1: To manage restricted technology export according to law and standards, and to promote the development of technology export in our country, these procedures are hereby formulated in accordance with the "Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China" (Hereinafter called the "Foreign Trade Law").

Article 2: The state is to issue permits for the export of technology and related products whose export is under restriction. The export of such technology and products shall go through export permit formalities in accordance with these procedures, including:

1. The export of technology and related products listed in the "Catalogue of Technology Whose Export Is Banned or Restricted in China"; and

2. The export of specific technology and related products not included in Paragraph 1 of this article, but whose export is restricted or banned according to an interim decision made by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (Hereinafter called "Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry") or by the ministry together with departments concerned of the State Council, and with the approval of the State Council.

Article 3: The permits for restricted technology export stated in Paragraph 1 of Article 2 of these procedures shall be managed by the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry together with the Ministry of Science and Technology (Hereinafter called the "Science and Technology Ministry").

The permits for interim restricted technology export stated in Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of these procedures shall be managed by the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry.

Article 4: Technology exporters who want to export technology and related products whose export is restricted in Paragraph 1 of Article 2 of these procedures shall fill an "Application for Restricted Technology Export in China (A) (Hereinafter called "Application A". See Attached Table 1.), and submit it to the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry (The Science and Technology Development and Technology Import and Export Corporation, hereinafter called the "Science and Technology Corporation") for going through export permit formalities.

Article 5: Technology exporters who want to export technology and related products whose export is restricted in Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of these procedures shall fill an "Application for Interim Restricted Technology Export in China (B) (Hereinafter called "Application B". See Attached Table 2), and go through export permit formalities according to the following steps:

1. The "Application B" of technology exporters of various ministries and commissions of the State Council and organs directly under these ministries and commissions shall be submitted to the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry (the "Science and Technology Corporation);

2. The "Application B" of technology exporters other than those stated in Paragraph 1 of this article shall be submitted to competent foreign economic and trade departments (Hereinafter called "local competent foreign economic and trade departments) of provinces, regions, municipalities, and citieswith the same authority for making economic decisions as a province.

Article 6: The Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry shall, together with the Science and Technology Ministry, carry out trade and technology examinations and make a decision on whether or not the application is approved within 30 working days after receiving the "Application A."

The application shall be returned to the applicant for revision or for providing missing statements if the statements are incomplete or ambiguous, or do not meet the requirements; and the date the applicant reapplies or provides missing statements shall be regarded as the date of application submission.

Article 7: The local competent foreign economic and trade department shall put forward its opinions on the initial examination and transmit the application to the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry for examination and approval within 15 working days after receiving the "Application B".

Article 8: The Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry shall, independently or together with departments concerned of the State Council, carry out examination and make a decision on whether or not the technology export is approved within 20 working days after receiving the "Application B" or the "Application B" transmitted by the local competent foreign economic and trade department together with its opinions on the initial examination.

The application shall be returned to the local competent foreign economic and trade department or the applicant for revision or for providing missing statements if the statements are incomplete or ambiguous, or do not meet the requirements; and the date the applicant reapplies or provides missing statements shall be regarded as the date of application submission.

Article 9: The key points of trade examination on technology export are:

1. Whether or not the export conforms to the foreign trade policy of our country and is conducive to promoting foreign trade export;

2. Whether or not the export conforms to the industrial export policy of our country and is conducive to promoting the development of national industry; and

3. Whether or not the export conforms to our country's promises and obligations to foreign countries.

Article 10: The key points of technical examination on technology export are:

1. Whether or not the export endangers national security;

2. Whether or not the export conforms to the science and technology development policy of our country and is conducive to science and technology progress;

3. Whether or not the export of the industrial technology conforms to the industrial policy of our country and promotes the production of large and complete sets of equipment and high-tech products as well as economic and technical cooperation;

Laboratory technology shall, in principle, first be developed domestically and turned into industrial technology before it is exported. Laboratory technology which has not yet been turned into industrial technology can be exported only on condition that such export will not cause damage to the country's interests and effective protection abroad is secured.

1. Whether or not the export technology has been appraised as mature and reliable. Technology which has not yet been appraised but has been proved in production shall require a certificate issued by the production unit.

Article 11: After the export application submitted by a technology exporter is approved, the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry shall issue a "Letter of Intent on Permitting Technology Export of the People's Republic of China" printed and given a serial number in a unified manner (Hereinafter called the "Letter of Intent on Permitting Technology Export." See Attached Table 3.). A "Letter of Intent on Permitting Technology Export" shall be valid for one to three years and technology exporters shall use it for export within the validity period. In applying for export credit and insurance intention commitments, a "Letter of Intent on Permitting Technology Export" shall be shown to the financial and insurance organizations concerned.

A technology exporter who fails to sign any technology export contract within the period of validity of the "Letter of Intent on Permitting Technology Export" and wants to extend the period of validity, shall apply for such extension with the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry (the Science and Technology Corporation) or a local competent foreign economic and trade department according to the procedures stated in Article 4 and Article 5 not less than 30 working days before expiration. The local competent foreign economic and trade department shall submit its opinions on the initial examination to the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry within 15 working days after receiving the application.

No unit or individual shall hold substantive talks with foreign businessmen, or make commitments with legal effect to them, on restricted technology export before obtaining a "Letter of Intent on Permitting Technology Export."

Article 12: A technology exporter who has signed a technology export contract shall go through the formalities for exchanging documents at the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry (the Science and Technology Corporation) by producing a "Letter of Intent on Permitting Technology Export," a contract, a detailed list of technical information for the export (documents, data, drawings, and so on), and a detailed list of the equipment to be exported, and a detailed list of related products to be exported (See Attached Table 5.). After examining and approving the export, the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry shall affix an export permit stamp on the technical information for the export, affix a seal of the issuance organ on the detailed list of technical information for the export, the detailed list of the equipment to be exported, and the detailed list of related products to be exported, and issue a "Permit for Technology Export of the People's Republic of China" (Hereinafter called a "Permit for Technology Export." See Attached Table 4.).

Article 13: A technology exporter who has obtained a "Permit for Technology Export" but wants to change the contents of the export shall go through the formalities for technology export once more according to the steps stated in these procedures.

Article 14: A "Permit for Technology Export" and relevant detailed lists shall be produced for going through formalities of the customs for restricted technology export and classified technology export approved by the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry, and the customs shall give clearance after examination and verification.

Article 15: The judicial and administrative departments shall investigate and affix the responsibility of the person or unit concerned that violates the provisions of these procedures in accordance with the "Foreign Trade Law" and other laws and regulations.

Article 16: The application for the export of technology that falls under the category of classified technology shall be examined for secrecy in accordance with the "Secrecy Law" and relevant regulations, and upon approval, shall go through export permission formalities.

Article 17: These procedures are not applicable to the export of special war industry technology for national defense.

Article 18: Technology exporters mentioned in these procedures means legal persons or other organizations that have obtained a foreign trade operation license in accordance with the "Foreign Trade Law."

Article 19: The power of interpretation of these procedures shall be vested in the Foreign Economic and Trade Ministry.

Article 20: These procedures come into effect on the date of their promulgation.

Annex II. Catalogue of Technology Whose Export Is Banned or Restricted in China

Names of technology:

01. General-Purpose Engineering Technology

01. vacuum technology
02. acoustic engineering technology

02. Mapping and Drawing Technology

01. geodetic survey technology
02. map cartography technology
03. precision engineering measuring technology

03.Seismologic Monitoring Technology

01.technology for the production of seismologic observation equipment

04.Meteorological Technology

01. thunderstorm monitoring and warning technology

05. Geological Technology

01.geophysical survey technology
02. geochemical survey technology
03. geological prospecting technology
04. oil and natural gas field prospecting technology (see the petroleum item)

06. Medical Technology

01. traditional Chinese medical technology
02. diving protection technology

07. Pharmaceutical Production Technology

01. biomedicine production technology
02. chemical synthetic and semi-synthetic medicine production technology
03. natural medicine production technology
04. medical adjuvant and intermediate preparation technology

08. Traditional Chinese Medicine Production Technology

01. traditional Chinese medicine resources and production technology
02. traditional Chinese medical prescription and production technology
03. technology for producing traditional Chinese medical pills ready for decoction

09. Medical Equipment Production Technology

01. diagnostic instrument and equipment manufacturing technology
02. medical treatment instrument and equipment manufacturing technology
03. technology for producing medical materials and products

10. Agricultural Technology

01. crop (including pastoral grass) strains and their breeding technology
02. cash crop strains, breeding, and processing technology
03. farm machine manufacturing technology
04. chemical insecticide production technology (see the chemical item)
05. bio-insecticide production technology (see the chemical item)

11. Forestry Technology

01. forest tree germplasm resources and breeding technology
02. technology for breeding garden plants and ornamental plants
03. technology for producing and applying forest tree growth regulators
04. technology for treating insect pests of forest trees
05. technology for breeding and protecting wild animals
06. technology for processing forestry chemical products

12. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Technology

13. Aquatic Technology

14. Measurement Technology

15. Engineering Material Production Technology

16. Mining Industry Engineering Technology

17. Petroleum and Natural Gas Exploitation Engineering Technology

18. Metallurgical Engineering Technology

19. Mechanical Engineering Technology

20. Instrument and Meter Technology

21. Power Engineering Technology

22. Nuclear Technology (to be separately promulgated)

23. Electrical Technology

24. Electrical Power Engineering Technology

25. Electronics Technology

26. Telecommunication Technology

27. Automation Technology

01. robot manufacturing technology 28. Computer Technology

29. Chemical and Petrochemical Engineering Technology

30. Civil Explosive Industry Technology

31. Light Industry Technology

32. Food Processing Technology

33. Textile Technology

34. Construction Engineering Technology

35. Construction Material Production Technology

01. nonmetal construction material production technology 37. [item number as published]. Ocean Engineering Technology

01. ocean environment simulation technology 38. Railway Transportation Technology

40. [item number as published]. Road Engineering Technology

41. Waterway Transportation Technology

42. Ship-Building Engineering Technology

43. Aviation Technology

44. Space Flight Technology

45. Environmental Protection Technology

01. sewage water treatment technology 47. [item number as published]. Public Security Technology

48. Cultural Relic Protection Technology

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.