Published by ChinaMNC · Liangqing

China's Government Information Disclosure Rules: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

A practical guide for foreign founders on China's Government Information Disclosure Regulations, covering proactive disclosure, application procedures, and key timelines.

China's Government Information Disclosure Rules: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

For foreign founders setting up or running a company in China, understanding how government information is disclosed can help you navigate regulations, access public records, and engage with authorities more effectively. China's Government Information Disclosure Regulations (originally issued in 2007 and revised in 2019) set out the framework for how administrative organs disclose information. This article summarizes the key provisions relevant to foreign investors and entrepreneurs, based on the official text published on the Nanning Municipal Government website.

What Counts as Government Information?

The regulations define government information as information that administrative organs produce or obtain while performing their administrative functions, and which is recorded and preserved in some form. This broad definition covers a wide range of documents and data that could be relevant to your business operations.

Local government offices at or above the county level serve as the competent departments for government information disclosure in their respective administrative areas. They are responsible for advancing, guiding, coordinating, and supervising the disclosure work.

Core Principles: Disclosure as the Norm

Administrative organs must adhere to the principle that disclosure is the norm and non-disclosure is the exception. They are required to follow principles of fairness, justice, legality, and convenience. When false or incomplete information that may affect social stability or disrupt social and economic management order is discovered, authorities must publish accurate government information to clarify the situation.

Governments at all levels are also tasked with strengthening the standardized, digital management of government information resources, enhancing online disclosure platforms, integrating these platforms with government service platforms, and improving online processing capabilities.

Who Is Responsible for Disclosure?

The administrative organ that produces government information is responsible for disclosing it. If an organ obtains information from citizens, legal persons, or other organizations, the organ that stores the information is responsible for disclosure. If an organ obtains information from another administrative organ, the organ that produced or initially obtained the information is responsible. Laws and regulations may specify otherwise.

Dispatched agencies and internal departments that perform administrative functions in their own name in accordance with laws and regulations may also be responsible for disclosing information related to those functions.

What Information Is Not Disclosed?

Certain categories of information are exempt from disclosure. These include information determined to be state secrets according to law, information prohibited from disclosure by laws and administrative regulations, and information that could endanger national security, public safety, economic security, or social stability if disclosed.

Information involving trade secrets or personal privacy that would harm the lawful rights of third parties must not be disclosed, unless the third party consents or the administrative organ determines that non-disclosure would significantly affect the public interest. Process-related information, such as discussion records, drafts, correspondence, and request reports formed during administrative functions, as well as information in administrative law enforcement case files, may also be withheld unless laws or regulations require disclosure.

Administrative organs must review information before disclosure in accordance with the State Secrets Law and other relevant laws and regulations. If uncertain about whether information can be disclosed, they must report to the relevant competent department or secrecy administration for a determination.

Proactive Disclosure: What You Can Expect to See

Administrative organs must proactively disclose information that involves adjustments to public interests, that the public needs to widely know about, or that requires public participation in decision-making. Specifically, municipal and county-level governments and their departments must proactively disclose information related to municipal construction, public services, public welfare undertakings, land expropriation, housing expropriation, public security management, and social assistance. Township governments must disclose information on agricultural and rural policies, irrigation and water conservancy projects, rural land contract management rights transfers, homestead use approvals, land and housing expropriation, fundraising and labor contributions, and social assistance.

Administrative organs must determine the specific content of proactive disclosure and continuously expand it in accordance with higher-level directives. They must establish mechanisms to publish information through government gazettes, government websites, other online government media, press conferences, newspapers, radio, and television. Governments at all levels must strengthen disclosure via government portals and use unified platforms to centrally publish proactive information. These platforms should have functions for information retrieval, viewing, and downloading.

Governments must also set up information access points in national archives, public libraries, and government service venues, equipped with necessary facilities to facilitate access for citizens, legal persons, and other organizations.

For information that falls within the scope of proactive disclosure, it must be published within 20 working days from the date of formation or change. Laws and regulations may specify other time limits.

Applying for Government Information

In addition to proactively disclosed information, citizens, legal persons, or other organizations may apply to local governments at all levels and to departments at or above the county level that perform administrative functions in their own name (including dispatched agencies and internal departments mentioned above) to obtain relevant government information.

Administrative organs must establish and improve application channels to facilitate access. Applicants must submit requests to the government information disclosure work机构 (the office responsible for disclosure) in writing, including by letter or electronic data message. If written form is genuinely difficult, applicants may make oral requests, and the receiving office will fill out the application on their behalf.

If an application is unclear, the administrative organ must provide guidance and explanation, and within 7 working days of receiving the application, inform the applicant in one go of the corrections needed, specifying the items to be corrected and a reasonable correction period. The response period starts from the date the corrected application is received. If the applicant fails to correct without justified reason, the application is deemed abandoned and will not be processed further.

For applications submitted by mail, the date of receipt is the date the administrative organ signs for it. For ordinary mail that does not require a signature, the disclosure office must confirm with the applicant on the day the application is received, and that confirmation date is considered the date of receipt.

Key Takeaways for Foreign Founders

• Know what's available: Many categories of government information are proactively disclosed, including information on land use, public services, and social assistance, which can be relevant for site selection and community relations.
• Use application channels: If you need specific information not proactively published, you can file a written application. Ensure your request is clear to avoid delays.
• Respect exemptions: Be aware that certain information, such as trade secrets and state secrets, is protected and will not be disclosed.
• Leverage online platforms: Government websites and unified disclosure platforms offer search and download functions, making it easier to access information remotely.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.

For assistance with registering and operating a company in China, foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535.