./.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/Q/CHN/11 
8 September 2004 
 
 (04-3778) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
  
 
CHINA'S TRANSITIONAL REVIEW MECHANISM
1 
 
Questions from JAPAN to CHINA2 
  
 The following communication, dated 3 September 2004, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of Japan.  
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1. Japan welcomes that, in the third year afte r accession, implementation by People’s Republic 
of China (hereinafter called "China") of its commitments on the Committee on Import Licensing has 
progressed and entered  a cruising phase. In a tr ansitional period of e volving regulations, the 
importance of regulatory transparency, predictab ility, stability and consistency is paramount; the 
value of market access commitments and the efforts to implement them could be easily clouded out 
by a shortness of such elements either in regul ations themselves or in their application. The 
transitional review mechanism could be useful for making those transitional efforts more efficient and 
productive, and it is a pleasure for Japan to contribute to this process.  2. In this context, China is further invited to take necessary steps to ensure regular and effective 
application of public comments procedures, well- in-advance publication of laws and regulations, 
avoidance of abrupt regulatory change, clear demarcation of departmental responsibilities, improvement in inter-departmental and central- provincial coordination and consistency, etc. 
 3. In accordance with Paragraph 18 of the Prot ocol on the Accession of the People’s Republic of 
China, which states, "China shall provide relevant in formation to each subsidiary body in advance of 
the review", and in the spirit of cooperation to re nder the TRM process most efficient and effective, 
Japan requests China to provide, in advance of the meeting of the Committee on Import Licensing, 
responses and relevant information to the following questions and comments. 
  
Question 1:  Concerns about the implementation of import quotas for automobiles
 
  China committed to completely abolish import r estrictions which are inconsistent with the 
WTO agreement such as Article XI of the GATT 1994 by 1 January 2005 and not to introduce new 
restrictions, which is noted in Paragraph 124 of the Working Party Report and Annex 3 of the 
Protocol.  We would like China to confirm that it will completely abolish, by 1 January 2005, the 
import restrictions for automobiles and automobile primary parts which are specified in Annex 3 of 
the Protocol, and will not maintain any non-tariff measures thereafter.  
                                                     
 
1 Pursuant to Paragraph 18 of the Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China 
(WT/L/432). 
2 See Understanding on Procedures for th e Review of Notifications (G/LIC/4). G/LIC/Q/CHN/11 
Page 2  
 
 Question 2:  Lack of the transparency  in issuing import licences on automobiles
 
  We would like to know whether China will main tain, after 1 January 2005, the "Automatic 
Import Licence" system provided in Chapter 4 of the "Measures on the Administration of Import of 
Machinery and Electronic Products" enforced as of 1 January 2002.  If China will maintain the system 
even after 1 January 2005, we would like to know the reason. 
 
 Article 18 of the "Measures on the Administration of Import of Machinery and Electronic 
Products" provides that any application for import of products which are subject to this Act shall be 
approved in any circumstances.  In real practice, however, we were informed, for example, that 
automatic certifications of permi ssion for imports of motor vehicles with 30 seats or more (including 
the driver) and trucks were issued only for half the number of applications.  In such cases, the Chinese 
authority did not respond sufficiently to the appli cants' request for providing reasons why issuance of 
certifications were limited.  We urge China to ap prove all imports as applied in accordance with the 
"Measures on the Administration of Import of Machinery and Electronic Products".     
 Question 3:  Implementation of th e deregulation of trading rights
 
 
 We understand that China amended the "Foreign Trade Law" and enforced it from 1 July 2004 so as to fulfill the commitments on accession to the WTO.  We would like to know how 
the law is implemented.  We request China to administer the Act consistently with the WTO 
agreements.    
 Regarding the "Measures for the Administra tion of Foreign Investment in Commercial 
Fields", promulgated on 16 April 2004 and effect ive from 1 June 2004, we have information that 
China is preparing regulations or gu idelines to implement these "Measures". 
  If this is the case, we would like to know th e details of such regul ations or guidelines. 
 
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