WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/C/N/216
24 December 2002
(02-7104)
Council for Trade in Services Original:  English
NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE III:3 OF THE
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES
The following notification has been received from the delegation of the People's Republic of
China.
____________
1. Member notifying:
The People's Republic of China
2. Notification under:
Article III, paragraph 3 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services
3. Date of entry into force/duration:
2001/12/11
4. Agency responsible for implementati on and enforcement of the measure:
Ministry of Communications
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation
5. Complete description of the measure* indicating the modes of supply covered, the effect
on trade in services (e.g., restrictions/liberalization measures) and the impact of the
measure on commitments in the Member's schedule and Article II (MFN) exemption
list, if relevant:
Regulations on International Maritime Transportation
Full text English translation of the regulation is attached.1  The English translation is for
reference only and the Chinese version shall be authentic.
6. Members specifically affected, if any:
All Members
7. The texts are available from:
- Enquiry point /g254
- WTO Secretariat /g254
- Other sources (address, fax
and telephone of other body)  /g168
                                                     
* Including international agreements, recognition measures or other types.
1 In English onlyS/C/N/216
Page 2
Regulations of the People ’s Republic of China on International Maritime Transportation
(Adopted at the 49th Executive Meeting of the State Council on December 5, 2001, promulgated by
Decree No. 335 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on December 11, 2001,and
effective as of January 1, 2002).
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated for the purposes of regulating international
maritime transportation operations, protecting fair competition, maintaining the order of international
maritime transportation market and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the relevant
parties involved in international maritime transportation.
Article 2 These Regulations are applicable to international maritime transportation business
operations to and from the ports of the People’s Republic of China as well as the auxiliary business
operations relating to international maritime transportation.
Auxiliary business operations relating to internati onal maritime transportation, as referred to in the
preceding paragraph, include the businesses relating  to international shipping agency services,
international ship management, loading and unloading, storage and warehousing of internationalshipments and international maritime container freight station and container yard services, etc.
Article 3 The good faith doctrine shall be practiced in international maritime transportation
business operations and auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime transportation,
the operations shall be lawfully conducted under fair competition.
Article 4 The competent communications department of the State Council and competent
communications departments of relevant local people’s governments shall, in accordance with the
provisions of these Regulations, supervise and administer international maritime transportation
business operations, and shall exercise supervision and administration over auxiliary businessoperations relating to international maritime transportation.
Chapter II Operators of International Mariti me Transportation and Auxiliary Businesses
Thereof
Article 5 To be engaged in international shipping services, the following conditions shall be
met:
(1) having vessels suitable for employment in international maritime transportation,
among which there must be vessels of Chinese nationality;
(2) vessels under employment shall be in co mpliance with the technical standards for
maritime traffic safety as set forth by the State;
(3) having bills of lading, passenger tickets or multimodal transportation documents;
(4) having senior executives with the professional qualifications as set forth by the
competent communications department of the State Council.
Article 6 To be engaged in international shipping se rvices, an application shall be submitted to
the competent communications department of th e State Council, and the relevant documents in
compliance with the conditions set forth in Article 5 of these Regulations shall be attached thereto.
The competent communications department of the State Council shall, within 30 days from the date of
acceptance of the application, complete the examination and verification and make a decision of
granting or not granting permission. If the permission is granted, a Permit for Operation of
International Shipping Services shall be issued to the applicant, or, if no permission is granted, theapplicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons therefor.
In examining and verifying the application for international shipping services, the competent
communications department of the State Council shall take into account the policies of the State forS/C/N/216
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the development of international shipping industry and the actual competition situations in
international shipping market.
Anyone who applies for both international shipping services and international liner services shall
concurrently submit the relevant documents as provided for in Article 17 of these Regulations, whichshall be examined, verified and registered by the competent communications department of the State
Council.
Article 7 To be engaged in non-vessel operating services, the formalities for registering bill of
lading shall be undergone with the competent co mmunications department of the State Council and
surety bond shall be paid therewith.
Non-vessel  operating services, as referred to in the preceding paragraph, mean such international
maritime transportation business operations in which a non-vessel operating common carrier accepts
shipments from the shipper as a carrier, issues its own bills of lading or other shipping documents,
procures through the international shipping operator the carriage of goods by sea against payment of
freight by the shipper, and assumes the responsibilities of a carrier.
To be engaged in non-vessel operating services within  Chinese territory, an enterprise as legal person
shall be established according to law within Chinese territory.
Article 8 A non vessel operating common carrier shall, at the time of making an application for
the registration of bill of lading to the competent communications department of the State Council,
submit the relevant documents certifying that the required surety bond has been paid in accordance
with the provisions of these Regulations.
The surety bond as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be in a sum of RMB 800,000 yuan,
and an additional sum of RMB 200,000 yuan is required for each subsequent branch. The surety bond
shall be paid to a designated bank account opened at a bank within Chinese territory.
The surety bond shall be used for the payment of debts incurred from non-performance or improper
performance of obligations by the non-vessel operating common carrier or used for payment of fines.
The surety bond and the interests accrued thereon belong to the non-vessel operating common carrier.
The designated account shall be subject to the supervision by the competent communicationsdepartment of the State Council.
The competent communications department of the State Council shall complete examination and
verification of the application for bill of lading registration and the certifying documents for surety
bond within 15 days from the date of receipt thereof, and shall, if the application documents areauthentic and complete, grant registration and notify the applicant of the result thereof, or, if the
application documents are inauthentic or incomplete, grant no registration and notify the applicant in
writing and give the reasons therefor. The compet ent communications department of the State Council
shall publish the names of the carriers of non-vessel operating services who have registered their bills
of lading.
Article 9 To be engaged in international shipping agency services, the following conditions
shall be met:
(1) having at least two senior executives with no less than three years’ experience in
international maritime transportation business operations;
(2) having fixed places of business and necessary business facilities.
Article 10 To be engaged in international shipping agency services, an application shall be
submitted to the competent communications department of the State Council, and the relevant
documents in compliance with the conditions set forth in Article 9 of these Regulations shall beattached thereto. The competent communications department of the State Council shall completeS/C/N/216
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examination and verification within 15 days from the date of receipt of the application. If the
application documents are authentic and complete, registration shall be granted and the applicant shall
be notified of the result, or, if the application documents are inauthentic or incomplete, no registration
shall be granted and the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons therefor.
Article 11 To be engaged in international ship management services, the following conditions
shall be met:
(1) having at least two senior executives with no less than three years ’ experience in
international maritime transportation business operations;
(2) having staff members in possession of Master’s credentials and chief engineer’s
credentials appropriate to the types of ships and trading zones under their
management; and
(3) having equipment and facilities appropriate to international ship management
services.
Article 12 To be engaged in international ship management services, an application shall be
submitted to the competent communications department of the people’s government of a province, an
autonomous region or a municipality directly und er the Central Government where the proposed
business is to be located, and the relevant documents in compliance with the conditions set forth in
Article 11 of these Regulations shall be attached thereto. The competent communications departmentof the peoples government of a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the
Central Government shall complete examination and verification within 15 days from the date of
receipt of the application. If the application documents are authentic and complete, registration shall
be granted and the applicant shall be notified of the result, or, if the application documents are
inauthentic or incomplete, no registration shall be granted and the applicant shall be notified inwriting and given the reasons therefor.
Article 13 After being granted permission or registered as provided for in these Regulations,
international shipping operators, non vessel operating common carriers, international shipping agents
or international ship management operators shall, by presenting relevant certifying documents, gothrough registration formalities with enterprise registration authorities according to law.
Article 14 International shipping operators, non vessel operating common carriers, international
shipping agents or international ship management ope rators shall not provide others for use with their
legally obtained business operation qualifications.
Article 15 Where, after having obtained the qualifications for business operation in accordance
with the provisions of these Regulations, an international shipping operator, a non vessel operating
common carrier, an international shipping agent or an international ship management operator no
longer meets the conditions set forth in these Regulations, the competent communications departmentof the State Council, or the competent communications  department of the people’s government of a
province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the Central Government shall
immediately cancel such operator of the qualifications for business operation.
Chapter III Business Operations of Internatio nal Maritime Transportation and Auxiliary
Businesses Thereof
Article 16 An international shipping operator who intends to be engaged in international liner
services to and from the ports of the People’s Republic of China shall acquire the qualifications for
operation of international liner services in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
Those who have not acquired the qualifications for the operation of international liner services shall
not be engaged in international liner services, nor publish their liner shipping schedules, nor accept
space booking.S/C/N/216
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Where the operation of international liner services is conducted through joint employment of vessels,
slot sharing of cargo spaces or joint operation of services, the provisions in Paragraph one of this
Article shall apply.
Article 17 To be engaged in international liner servic es, an application shall be submitted to the
competent communications department of the State Council, and the following documents shall be
attached thereto:
(1) the name of the international liner service operator, its registered place of business,
photocopy of its business license, and the information of its main investor(s);
(2) the names and identification documents of the operator’s main management staff;
(3) the particulars of the vessels under operation;
(4) the description of the intended shipping lines, shipping schedules and ports of call
along the shipping lines;
(5) the freight tariff; and
(6) the sample of its bill of lading, passage ticket or multimodal transport documents. The
competent communications department of the State Council shall complete
examination and verification within 30 days from the date of receipt of theapplication for international liner services. If the application documents are authentic
and complete, registration shall be granted and the applicant shall be notified of the
result, or, if the application documents are inauthentic and incomplete, no registration
shall be granted and the applicant shall be notified in writing and given the reasons
therefor.
Article 18 An international liner operator who has obtained the qualifications for international
liner services shall start such services within 180 days from the date of acquirement of itsqualifications, and, subject to the approval of the competent communications department of the State
Council, such time limit may be extended for another 90 days in case of force majeure. In case of
failure to start the liner services within the time limit, the qualifications for international liner services
shall be invalid upon the expiration thereof.
Article 19 New international liner services, liner services under suspension, or any change(s) to
carrying vessels or schedules for international liner services shall be made known to the public15 days in advance and shall be filed with the competent communications department of the State
Council within 15 days from the date of occurrence.
Article 20 The freight rates of international shipping operators and non vessel operating
common carriers engaged in the business of international liner services shall be filed in specifiedformat with the competent communications department of the State Council. The competent
communications department of the State Council shall designate a special body for handling the filing
of freight rates.
The filed freight rates shall include tariff rates and negotiated rates. Tariff rates refer to the freight
rates shown in the tariff of international liner service operators and non vessel operating common
carriers; while negotiated rates refer to the freight rates agreed upon between international liner
service operators and shippers or non vessel operating common carriers. The tariff rates shall come
into effect 30 days after the day upon which the tariff rates have been accepted for the filing by the
competent communications department of the State Council. The negotiated rates shall come intoeffect 24 hours after acceptance for the filing by the competent communications department of the
State Council.
International liner service operators and non vessel operating common carriers shall apply the
effective freight rates that have been filed.
Article 21 When concluding agreements on negotiated rates with non vessel operating common
carriers, international liner service operators shall make sure that such non vessel operating commonS/C/N/216
Page 6
carriers have registered their bills of lading and paid the required surety bond in accordance with the
provisions of these Regulations.
Article 22 Photocopies of liner conference agreements, service operation agreements and freight
rate agreements concluded between international shipping operators engaged in international liner
services in which Chinese ports are involved shall be filed with the competent communications
department of the State Council within 15 days from the date of conclusion of such agreements.
Article 23 An international shipping service operator shall, within 15 days from the date of
occurrence of any of the following circumstances, make a report thereon to the competent
communications department of the State Council for the filing:
(1) termination of services;(2) reduction of carrying capacity;
(3) changes in bills of lading, passenger tickets or multimodal transport documents;
(4) establishment of overseas branches or subsidiaries for international shipping services;
or
(5) vessels under its ownership to be registered abroad, and flying foreign flags.
Where an international shipping operator makes any increase to its existing number of vessels, the
added vessel(s) shall meet the safety and technical standards set forth by the State, and the same shall
be reported to the competent communications department of the State Council for the filing 15 days
prior to the operation of such vessel(s). The competent communications department of the StateCouncil shall issue a document certifying the filing within three days from the date of receipt of the
documents for the filing.
Other Chinese enterprises shall, under any of the circumstances specified in Subparagraphs (4) and (5)
of Paragraph one of this Article, undergo the formalities for filing in accordance with the provisionsof Paragraph one of this Article.
Article 24 In case of merger or acquisition among international shipping operators, the merger
or acquisition agreement shall be submitted to the competent communications department of the State
Council for examination and approval.
The competent communications department of the State Council shall, within 60 days from the date of
receipt of the merger or acquisition agreement submitted by the international shipping operators,
conduct examination and verification, taking into consideration policies of the State for the
development of international shipping industry and the situation of competition prevailing in the
international shipping market, and make a decision either approving or disapproving such an
agreement, and shall notify the international shipping operators of the result in writing.
Article 25 In case of collection of freight and other related fees, or collection of freight and other
related fees on behalf of others within Chinese territory, international shipping operators, non vessel
operating common carriers and international shipping agents shall produce to the payers the invoices
uniformly prepared by Chinese taxation authorities.
Article 26 No one shall be engaged in non vessel operating services without registering its bill
of lading and paying required surety bond in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
Article 27 None of the following acts may be committed in the operation of international
shipping services or non vessel operating services:
(1) providing service at lower freight rates than normal and reasonable ones, thereby
prejudicing fair competition;
(2) offering secret rebates to shippers, not being reflected in the bookkeeping, for the
purpose of soliciting cargoes;S/C/N/216
Page 7
(3) arbitrarily taking advantage of its dominant position to impose discriminatory freight
rate or other restrictive terms detrimental to the other party of the transaction; or
(4) committing any other acts detrimental to the other party of the transaction or the order
of international shipping market.
Article 28 A foreign operator of international shipping services who is engaged in international
shipping operations as referred to in this Chapter shall abide by the provisions of these Regulations.
Foreign operators of international shipping services shall not engage in shipping services between
ports of the Peoples Republic of China, nor engage in shipping services between ports of the Peoples
Republic of China under disguise by using chartered ships flying Chinese flags or cargo spaces
thereof, or, by way of slot sharing of cargo spaces thereof.
Article 29 An international shipping agent may, upon the commission of any shipowner,
charterer or ship operator, be engaged in the following businesses:
(1) undergoing formalities for ship’s entry into or departure from ports, arranging
pilotage, berthing and loading and unloading of vessels;
(2) signing bills of lading or carriage contracts and accepting cargo space booking on
behalf of the carrier;
(3) undergoing customs formalities for vessels, containers and shipments;
(4) canvassing cargoes, arranging shipments and attending to procedures for shipments
and transshipment of cargoes and containers;
(5) collecting freight and settling payment on behalf of the principal;(6) arranging passenger transport and attendin g to procedures for transport of passengers
by sea; and
(7) other pertinent businesses.
An international shipping agent shall, in accorda nce with the relevant provisions of the State,
withhold or collect tax payable by the foreign operator of international shipping services under his
agency.
Article 30 An international ship management operator may, upon the commission of  any
shipowner, charterer or ship operator, be engaged in the following businesses:
(1) sale and purchase of vessels, chartering of vessels and management of other assets
relating to vessels;
(2) ship engineering, handling of navigational affairs and arrangement of ship repair and
maintenance;
(3) recruitment, training and manning of seafarers; and
(4) other services purporting to maintain the technical standards of the vessels and ensure
their proper navigation.
Chapter IV Special Provisions on Investment in and Operation of International Maritime
Transportation and Auxiliary Businesses Relating Thereto by Foreign Investors
Article 31 The provisions of this Chapter are applicable to investment in and operation of
international maritime transportation businesses and auxiliary businesses relating to international
maritime transportation within Chinese territory by foreign investors, and, in the absence of any
provisions in this Chapter relating thereto, the relevant provisions in other chapters of these
Regulations shall apply.
Article 32 Upon the approval of the competent communications department of the State
Council, foreign investors may, in accordance with th e relevant laws, administrative regulations and
other pertinent provisions of the State, make investment to establish Chinese Foreign equity joint
ventures or contractual joint ventures to be engage d in international shipping services, international
shipping agency services, international ship management services, international maritime cargo
warehousing, and international maritime container freight station and container yard services, andS/C/N/216
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may establish wholly foreign capital enterprises to be engaged in international maritime cargo
warehousing services.
The proportion of the investment made by foreign investors into Chinese Foreign equity joint ventures
engaged in international shipping services or inte rnational shipping agency services shall not exceed
49%.
The provisions in the preceding paragraph are mutatis mutandis applicable to the proportion of the
investment made by foreign investors into Chinese Foreign contractual joint ventures engaged in
international shipping services or international shipping agency services.
The chairperson of the board of directors and the general manager of a Chinese Foreign equity joint
venture or Chinese Foreign contractual joint venture engaged in international shipping services shall
be appointed by the Chinese side through consultation between the two sides.
Article 33 Upon the approval of the competent communications department of the State
Council, foreign investors may, in accordance with th e relevant laws, administrative regulations and
other pertinent provisions of the State, make investment to establish Chinese Foreign equity joint
ventures, Chinese Foreign contractual joint ventures or wholly foreign capital enterprises to offer such
routine services as canvassing of cargoes, issuance of bills of lading, settlement of freight and signing
of service contracts for their owned or operated vessels; if they have not established any Chinese
Foreign equity joint venture, Chinese Foreign contractual joint venture or solely foreign capitalenterprise within Chinese territory, they must co mmission a Chinese international shipping agent to
undertake the above mentioned businesses.
Article 34
al of the competent communications department of the State Council, foreign
operators of international shipping services and foreign enterprises engaged in auxiliary businessesrelating to international maritime transportation may establish representative offices within Chinese
territory according to law.
The representative offices established by foreign operators of international shipping services and
foreign enterprises engaged in auxiliary businesses relating to international maritime transportation
shall not be engaged in profit-making business activities.
Chapter V Investigations and Settlement
Article 35 The competent communications department of the State Council may, upon the
request of the interested parties or at its own di scretion, conduct investigations into the following
cases:
(1) liner conference agreements, operational agreements or freight rate agreements
concluded among international shipping operators engaged in international liner
services in which Chinese ports are involved and which can be detrimental to fair
competition;
(2) service activities of the consortium set up by international shipping operators engaged
in international liner services through agreements that involve a shipping volume
exceeding 30% of the aggregate shipping volume for one consecutive year on one
particular shipping line to and from Chinese ports and which can be detrimental to
fair competition;
(3) any act as specified in Article 27 of these Regulations; and(4) any other act detrimental to fair competition in international shipping market.
Article 36 The investigations by the competent comm unications department of the State Council
shall be conducted jointly with the administrative department for commerce and industry of the State
Council and the pricing department of the State Counc il (hereinafter referred to as the investigatory
authority).S/C/N/216
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Article 37 The investigatory authority shall, fo r conducting investigations, set up an
investigation group composed of at least three members. The investigation group may, where
necessary, invite the experts concerned to take part in the investigations.
The investigation group shall, prior to investigatio ns, notify the person under investigation of the
purpose, reason and time limit for the investigations . The time limit for the investigations shall not
exceed one year, but can be extended for half a year where necessary and upon the approval of the
investigatory authority.
Article 38 In conducting investigations, the investigators may inquire the person under
investigation and enterprises or individuals having  business relation with him, and may consult and
make copies of the relevant documents, agreements, contracts, account books, business faxes,
electronic data and other pertinent data.
In conducting investigations, the investigators shall keep business secrets for the person under
investigation and the enterprises or individuals having business relation with him.
Article 39 Persons under investigation shall accept investigations and truthfully provide relevant
information and materials, and shall not refuse investigations or conceal truthful information or give
false information.
Article 40 The investigatory authority shall, upon completion of the investigations, make a
conclusion and notify the person under investigation and the interested parties thereof in writing.
In case of detriment to fair competition, the investigatory authority may take certain prohibitive or
restrictive measures such as ordering to amend relevant agreements, limiting the frequency of linerservices, suspending the application of freight rates, or stopping for the time being the filing of freight
rates, or ordering to submit relevant materials on a regular basis.
Article 41 The investigatory authority shall, prior to making decisions for taking prohibitive or
restrictive measures, inform the party concerned of his right to a hearing and hold a hearing when the
party concerned so requires.
Chapter VI Legal Liability
Article 42 Those who are engaged in international shipping services without acquiring the
Permit for International Shipping Service Operation shall be ordered to terminate the operation by the
competent communications department of the State Council or its authorized communications
department of local people’s government; the illegal income, if any, shall be confiscated; if the illegal
income is not less than 500,000 yuan, a fine of not less than two times but not more than five times
the illegal income shall be imposed; if there is no any illegal income  or the illegal income is less than
500,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than 1,000,000 yuan shall be
imposed.
Article 43 Those who are engaged in non vessel operatin g services without registering their bills
of lading or paying the required surety bond shall be ordered to terminate the operation by the
competent communications department of the State Council or its authorized communications
department of local people’s government; the illegal income, if any, shall be confiscated; if the illegal
income is not less than 100,000 yuan, a fine of not less than two times but not more than five times
the illegal income shall be imposed; if there is no an y illegal income or the illegal income is less than
100,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan shall be imposed.
Article 44 Those who are engage in international shipping agency services or international ship
management services without undergoing registration formalities shall be ordered to terminate theS/C/N/216
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operation by the competent communications department of the State Council or its authorized
communications department of local people’s government; the illegal income, if any, shall be
confiscated; if the illegal income is not less than 50,000 yuan, a fine of not less than two times but not
more than five times the illegal income shall be im posed; if there is no illegal income or the illegal
income is less than 50,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuanshall be imposed.
Article 45 Foreign operators of international shipping services trading between ports of the
People’s Republic of China, or operating between ports of the People’s Republic of China by using
chartered ships flying Chinese flags or cargo spaces thereof, or by way of slot sharing of cargo spaces,
shall be ordered to terminate the operation by the competent communications department of the State
Council or its authorized communications department of local peoples government; the illegalincome, if any, shall be confiscated; if the illegal income is not less than 500,000 yuan, a fine of not
less than two times but not more than five times the illegal income shall be imposed; if there is no
illegal income or the illegal income is less than 500,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but
not more than 1,000,000 yuan shall be imposed. If the order for termination of operation is not
complied with, the vessels in question shall be prohibited from entering Chinese ports; if thecircumstances are serious, the offenders’ qualifications for operation of international liner services
shall be revoked.
Article 46 Those who are engaged in international liner services without acquiring the
qualifications therefor shall be ordered to terminate the operation by the competent communicationsdepartment of the State Council or its authorized communications department of local peoples
government; the illegal income, if any, shall be co nfiscated; if the illegal income is not less than
500,000 yuan, a fine of not less than two times but not more than five times the illegal income shall be
imposed; if there is no illegal income or the illega l income is less than  500,000 yuan, a fine of not
less than 200,000 yuan but not more than 1,000,000 yuan shall be imposed. If the order fortermination of operation is not complied with, the vessels in question shall be prohibited from
entering Chinese ports.
Article 47 International shipping operators, non-vessel operating common carriers, international
shipping agents or international ship management operators who provide others for using with their
legally obtained qualifications for such services shall be ordered to make corrections within a
specified time limit by the competent communications department of the State Council or itsauthorized communications department of local people’s government; if no corrections are made
within the specified time limit, their qualifications for operation shall be revoked.
Article 48 Those who fail to undergo the formalities for filing, as provided for in these
Regulations, shall be ordered to make up the formalities within a specified time limit by thecompetent communications department of the State Council or its authorized communications
department of local peoples government; if they fa il to make up the formalities within the specified
time limit, a fine of no t less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed, and
their corresponding qualifications may also be revoked.
Article 49 Those who fail to undergo the formalities for filing freight rates as provided for in
these Regulations, or fail to apply the freight rate s that have been filed shall be ordered to make
corrections within the time limit by the competent communications department of the State Council or
its authorized communications department of local peoples government, and a fine of not less than
20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed concurrently.
Article 50 Where, based on the conclusion of investigation, an administrative penalty shall be
imposed, or where any of the illegal acts set forth in Article 27 of these Regulations has been
committed, the competent communications department, the competent pricing department and the
administrative department for industry and commerce shall impose a penalty in accordance with theprovisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations.S/C/N/216
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Article 51 International shipping operators who agree upon negotiated rates with non vessel
operating common carriers failing to register their bills of lading and pay surety bond shall be given a
warning and fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan by the competent
communications department of the State Council or  its authorized communications department of
local people’s government.
Article 52 Foreign operators of international shipping services and foreign enterprises engaged
in auxiliary businesses relating to international maritime transportation, if establishing representative
offices without the approval of the competent comm unications department of the State Council, shall
be ordered to make corrections within a specified time limit and fined not less than 20,000 yuan but
not more than 100,000 yuan by the competent communications department of the State Council or itsauthorized communications department of local people’s government.
The representative offices established by foreign operators of international shipping services or
foreign enterprises engaged in auxiliary businesses relating to international maritime transportation, if
engaging in profit making business operations, shall be ordered to terminate their business operationsand be punished according to law by the administrative department for commerce and industry.
Article 53 Those who refuse the investigations legally conducted by the investigatory authority
and its staff members, or conceal truthful information or give false information, shall be ordered to
make corrections and fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan by thecompetent communications department of the State Council or its authorized communications
department of local people’s government.
Article 54 Those who are illegally engaged in international maritime transportation business
operations to and from ports of China and auxiliary business operations relating to internationalmaritime transportation, thus disturbing the order of international maritime transportation market,
shall be investigated for criminal liability in a ccordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law on
the crime of illegal business operations.
Article 55 Any staff members of the competent communi cations department of the State Council
or competent communications department of local pe ople’s governments, if breaking criminal laws by
committing any acts as follows which result in grave consequences, shall be investigated for criminal
liability in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law on the crime of abusing powers, the
crime of neglect of duties or other crimes; if the circumstances are not serious enough for criminal
punishment, administrative sanctions shall be imposed according to law:
(1) failing to grant approval, permission, registration or filing to applicants who meet the
conditions provided for in these Regulations, or granting approval, permission,registration or filing to applicants who do not meet the conditions provided for in
these Regulations;
(2) failing to exercise supervision and administration as provided for in these Regulations
over international shipping operators, non-vessel operating common carriers,
international shipping agents or international ship management operators who haveobtained the approval, permission, registration and filing, or failing to deprive the
operators no longer meeting the conditions provided for in these Regulations of their
qualifications for business operations, or failing to investigate and deal with their
illegal acts with the knowledge relating thereto; or
(3) failing to promptly ban the international maritime transportation business operations
or auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime transportation
carried out by any unit or individual without undergoing the formalities for approval,
permission, registration or filing according to law, while these cases have been
discovered during the course of supervision and inspection, or failing to handle such
cases according to law after their being reported.S/C/N/216
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Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 56 These Provisions are mutatis mutandis applicable to the investment into and operation
of international shipping businesses and auxiliar y businesses relating to international maritime
transport in Chinese mainland by investors from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, MacaoSpecial Administrative Region or Taiwan region.
Article 57 No foreign operators of international shipping service, without being  approved by the
competent communications department of the State Council, shall be allowed to engage in the
shipping services between Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or
the Macao Special Administrative Region, nor engage in two way direct sailings or shipping services
via a third place between China mainland and Taiwan region.
Article 58 The measures for administration of maritime transportation between Chinese
mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or Macao Special Administrative Region
shall be formulated in accordance with thes e Regulations by the competent communications
department of the State Council.
The maritime transportation between Chinese mainla nd and Taiwan shall be governed by the relevant
provisions of the State.
Article 59 Where any country or region has taken any prohibitive, restrictive or other similar
measures discriminating against any international ma ritime transportation operator, ship or seaman of
the People’s Republic of China, the Government of the People’s Republic of China shall, on the basis
of reciprocity, take appropriate counter measures.
Article 60 Those who have been engaging in international maritime transportation business
operations or auxiliary business operations relating to international maritime transportation before
these Regulations take effect shall make up the formalities as provided for in these Regulations within
60 days after the effective date of these Regulations.
Article 61 These Regulations shall be effective as of January 1, 2002. The Provisions of the
People’s Republic of China on Administration of International Maritime Container Transport
promulgated by the State Council on December 5, 1990, and revised and promulgated by the StateCouncil on April 18, 1998 shall be repealed simultaneously.
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