关于开展试点设立外商投资物流企业工作有关问题的通知

（Issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation on 20 June 2002 and effective 30 days from the date of issue.）

颁布日期：20020620 　实施日期：20020720 　颁布单位：对外贸易经济合作部

To the Commissions （General Office or Bureau） of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation in Jiangsu Province， Zhejiang Province， Guangdong Province， Beijing Municipality， Tianjin Municipality， Chongqing Municipality， Shanghai Municipality and Shenzhen City：

In order to encourage international trade， and the opening up and healthy development of the modern logistics industry to the outside world， pilot projects for the establishment of foreign-invested logistics enterprises in certain Chinese domestic areas are hereby launched. For the purpose of ensuring certain conditions and procedures are followed by the foreign-invested logistics industry during the pilot project period， certain issues related to the launch of these pilot projects for the establishment of foreign-invested logistics enterprises are notified as follows：

1. A “Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise” refers to the foreign-invested enterprise established by foreign investors in the form of a Sino-foreign equity joint venture or Sino-foreign cooperative joint venture that can， depending on the actual needs， choose to combine such stages as transport， warehousing， loading， unloading， processing， packaging， distribution， information processing and import and export of goods so as to form a relatively complete supply chain and to provide customers with multi-functional and integrated services （hereafter， Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise）。

2. Foreign investors are permitted to take the form of a Sino-foreign equity joint venture or a Sino-foreign cooperative joint venture when investing and operating international logistics* and third-party logistics business.

3. The investors who apply to establish Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprises shall meet the following requirements：

（1） Investors that wish to establish Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprises to engage in international logistics businesses shall include at least one party with good performance and operational experience in operating international trade or international freight forwarding or international freight forwarding agency and this investor shall be the largest shareholder among the Chinese investors or foreign investors.

（2） Investors that wish to establish a Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise to engage in third-party logistics services shall include at least one party with good performance and operational experience in operating transportation or logistics services and this investor shall be the largest shareholder among the Chinese investors or foreign investors.

4. A Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise must be established according to the following requirements：

（1） it must have a minimum registered capital of US$5 million；

（2） the foreign investor's share of the Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise must not exceed 50%；

（3） it must have a fixed place of business； and

（4） it must have the necessary operating facilities to engage in the logistics business.

5. Approved Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprises can engage in part or all of the following businesses：

（1） International logistics business：

- import and export business and related services， including import and export of goods for one's own account or as an agent；

- entrustment as an agent of import and export business for export processing enterprises； and

- provision of international freight forwarding services for imported and exported goods by sea， air or land.

（2） Third-party logistics business：

- transport， warehousing， loading and unloading， processing， packaging， delivery and relevant information processing and consulting services of ordinary goods by road；

- domestic freight forwarding of goods； and

- using computer networks for the management and operation of logistics business.

Approval by the relevant departments in accordance with relevant laws and regulations is required should a Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise wish to engage in road transportation of ordinary goods and make use of computer networks for the management and operation of logistics business.

6. To establish a Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise the investors shall apply to the department in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation of the province， autonomous region， municipality directly under the central government or city with independent development plans where the enterprise is proposed to be established and submit the following materials：

（1） an application form；

（2） a feasibility study report；

（3） qualification certificates of all the investing parties or the relevant documents as stipulated in Article 4 hereof；

（4） supporting legal documents and proof of creditworthiness of the Chinese and foreign investors；

（5） contract and articles of association；

（6） a list of the members of the board of directors or the joint administrative organization and major managers along with their résumés；

（7） a notice of preliminary approval of the enterprise name issued by the administration for industry and commerce；

（8） proof of the enterprise's place of business； and

（9） other materials required by the department in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation.

7. The following procedures shall be followed for the establishment of Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprises：

The department in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation of the province， autonomous region， municipality directly under the central government or city with independent development plans shall， within 10 days of receipt of the application materials， give out its preliminary opinion in accordance with the provisions hereof and submit the preliminary opinion to the department in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation of the State Council.

The department in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation of the State Council shall make a written decision of whether to approve the application within 30 working days of receipt of the application materials. If the application conforms with provisions， an approval certificate for foreign-invested enterprises shall be issued. If the application does not conform with provisions， it shall be sent back and a written notification with reasons explaining the disapproval shall be sent to the applicant.

Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprises engaging in international logistics business shall complete the procedure for obtaining the PRC Approval Certificate for International Freight Forwarding Enterprises at the department in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation of the State Council within 10 days from the date of issue of the approval certificate for foreign-invested enterprises.

8. Foreign-invested enterprises shall follow the procedure provided hereof should they wish to expand their business scope to engage in logistics business.

9. The term of operation for a Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise shall generally not exceed 20 years.

With the approval of the original approval authority， a Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise may extend its term of operation.

10. Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprises may apply to establish branches in other places in China in accordance with current relevant provisions. The term of operation of a branch shall not exceed that of the Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprise.

11. Foreign-invested Logistics Enterprises shall strictly abide by relevant State laws and， according to their scope of business， relevant industry administrative laws and regulations related to transportation， international freight forwarding agency and telecommunications. Corresponding punishment shall be imposed in accordance with corresponding laws and regulations on acts in violation of laws and regulations.

12. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation shall specify the trial areas. Currently， pilot projects are carried out in the four municipalities directly under the central government： Beijing， Tianjin， Shanghai and Chongqing； three provinces： Zhejiang， Jiangsu and Guangdong； and the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.

13. Investors from Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan that wish to establish pilot logistics enterprises in the mainland shall handle it with reference to the spirit of this Circular.

14. This Circular shall come into effect 30 days from the date of issue.