. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/C/W/295 
27 November 2008 
 (08-5820) 
Council for Trade in Services Original:   English 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM CANADA 
 
Transitional Review Mechanism Pursuant to Paragraph 18 of the Protocol of
  
Accession of the People's Republic of China ("China")  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 26 Nove mber 2008, from the delegation of Canada is 
being circulated to the Members of the Council for Trade in Services.   
 
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Questions from Canada to China 
  Regulatory Transparency 
1. Under China’s Accession Protocol (See Section 2. Administration of the Trade Regime (C) 
Transparency, paragraph 2), China commits to “establis h or designate an official journal dedicated to 
the publication of all laws, regula tions and other measures pertaining to or affecting trade in goods, 
services, TRIPS or the control of foreign exchange a nd, after publication of its laws, regulations or 
other measures in such journal, shall provide a reasonable period for comment to the appropriate 
authorities before such measures are implemente d…” Canada understands the designated journal 
comes in the form of the MOFCOM online gazette on the MOFCOM website: http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle /b/g/200801/20080105335919.html
.  
2. Canada notes, however, that not all laws can be found in this website.  For example, China’s 
draft Postal Law is found not on the online gazette  but rather on the site of the National People’s 
Congress.  This means that there is no single loca tion where interested parties can be assured of 
finding all laws and regula tions pertaining to or affecting trade in services.  This may make it difficult 
to provide comment on the measures that are being developed within the prescribed comment period. 
Furthermore, unless Members or their service supplie rs know where to look, using multiple sources 
may make it difficult for them to find the information in the first place.  
3. In 2007 MOFCOM launched a we bsite for its annual report China Trade in Services  
(http://tradeinservices.mofcom.gov.cn ), where it posts service-related policies, statistics, events, and 
other information on a regular basis.  This is a useful search tool, but it still does not provide a 
substantive collection of information on trade in ser vices.  There is also th e difficulty of obtaining 
complete English translations as the E nglish website has even less content. 
4. Canada would appreciate an indication of what China intends to do to improve transparency 
and, in particular, to address these concerns.   
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  Telecommunications 
5. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the body that regulates 
telecommunications in China, has recently undergon e restructuring.  Please describe the measures in 
place to ensure the MIIT is separate from, and not accountable to, any supplier of basic telecommunications services, as committed to in the Telecommunications Reference Paper. 
6. Please provide an update on the progress of the drafting of the telecommunications law and 
provide any projected timelines on when it will be implemented. 
7. The revised Regulations of Foreign-funded Telecommunications Enterprises sets minimum 
registered capital requirement for value-added service provides at RMB 10 million.  Please explain why this level of capital requirement is necessary. 
 
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