WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/C/W/591 
19 November 2007 
 
 (07-5042) 
Council for Trade in Goods Original:   English 
 
 
TRANSITIONAL REVIEW UNDER ARTICLE 18 OF THE PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION 
OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
 
Information Required in Annex 1A  
 
 The following communication, dated 19 November 2007, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of the People's Republic of China. 
 
_______________ 
 
II. ECONOMIC POLICIES 
2.1  Non-Discrimination 
 
(a) the repeal and cessation of all WTO inconsiste nt laws, regulations and other measures 
on national treatment 
 
During 6 years after accession, China has been  engaged in enacting, amending and abolishing 
trade-related laws, regulations a nd administrative measures, which are now in consistency with WTO 
national treatment, including those discussed in China’s accession negotiations. The national 
treatment principle is now well observed in th e legislation of China relating to trade. 
 (b) the repeal or modification to provide full GA TT national treatment in respect of laws, 
regulations and other measures applying to in ternal sale, offering for sale, purchase, 
transportation, distribution or use of: a fter sale service, pharmaceutical products, 
cigarettes, spirits, chemicals and boil er and pressure vessels (for pharmaceutical 
products, chemicals and spirits there is a reser vation of the right to use a transitional 
period of one year from the date of accessi on in order to amend or repeal relevant 
legislation) 
 
There has been no change in this area since the last review.  
 
IV.  POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS 
 
4.5  Export Restrictions 
 
(a)   any restrictions on exports through non-au tomatic licensing or other means justified by 
specific product under the WTO Agreement or the Protocol  
  
 China maintains export administration of a small number of products for the purposes of protecting public interest, conserving the exhaustib le natural resources, or undertaking obligations 
under international treaties. This is in  conformity to Article XX of GATT1994. G/C/W/591 
Page 2  
 
  Non-tariff export measures: 
 
In 2007, products subject to export license a nd export quota license include: live cattle, live 
swine, fowls, beef, pork, chicken meat, wheat, mai ze, rice, cotton, licorice and its products, Chinese 
iris and its products, silk, bauxite, light (dead) burne d magnesium, talc lump (powder), fluorspar lump 
(powder), rare earth, coal, coke, crude oil, pro cessed oil, paraffin wax, tungsten and its products, 
indium and its products, molybdenum and its product,  silicon carbide, sawn timber, silver, platinum 
(through processing trade only), zinc and zinc allo y, tin and tin alloy, antimony and its products, 
motorcycle and motorcycle engine, automobiles (i ncluding SKD), automobile frame, electric fan, 
bicycle, substances depleting ozonosphere, part of steel products and standard sand. Many of the 
products listed above obtain e xport licensing automatically.  
 China also maintains export prohibitions on the following products: horn-cores and tiger 
bones, bezoars, musk, certain chem icals used for narcotics production,  certain substances depleting 
ozonosphere, wood, wood charcoal, and platinum.  
 
Tariff measures 
 
Other than non-tariff measures, pursuant to Annex 6 of the Protocol on the Accession of the 
People’s Republic of China, 174 HS 8-digit tariff headings are subject to export tariff in 2007, 
including: 03019210, 05069090, 25085000, 25086000, 25101010, 25101090, 25102010, 25102090, 25292100, 25292200, 25309020, 26011110, 26011120, 26011190, 26011200, 26012000, 26020000, 
26030000, 26040000, 26050000, 26060000, 26080000, 26090000, 26100000, 26121000, 26122000, 
26131000, 26139000, 26140000, 26151000, 26161000, 26169000, 26171090, 26179010, 26179090, 26180010, 26180090, 26190000, 26201100, 26201900, 26202100, 26202900, 26203000, 26204000, 
26206000, 26209100, 26209910, 26209990, 27011210, 27040010, 27060000, 27090000, 28047090, 
28111100, 28259012, 28418010, 28461010, 28461020, 28461030, 28461090, 28469011, 28469012, 28469013, 28469014, 28469019, 28469028, 28469029, 28469030, 28469048, 28469049, 28469090, 
28499020, 29022000, 31021000, 44012100, 44012200, 44091010, 44092910, 44190031, 44219021, 
72021100, 72021900, 72022100, 72022900, 72023000, 72024100, 72024900, 72025000, 72026000, 72027000, 72028010, 72028020, 72029100, 72029210, 72029290, 72029300, 72031000, 72039000, 
72051000, 72052900, 72061000, 72069000, 72071100, 72071200, 72071900, 72072000, 72181000, 
72189100, 72189900, 72241000, 72249010, 72249090, 74010000, 74020000, 74031100, 74031200, 74031300, 74031900, 74032100, 74032200, 74032900, 74040000, 74071000, 74072100, 74072900, 
74081100, 74081900, 74082100, 74082200, 74082900, 74091100, 74091900, 74092100, 74092900, 
74093100, 74093900, 74094000, 74099000, 75021000, 75022000, 75089010, 76011010, 76011090, 76012000, 76020000, 76041000, 76042100, 76042900, 76051100, 76051900, 76052100, 76052900, 
76061120, 76061190, 76061220, 76061230, 76061240, 76069100, 76069200, 79011110, 79011190, 
79011200, 79012000, 81011000, 81019400, 81019700, 81021000, 81029400, 81029700, 81101010, 81110010, 81122100, 81122200, 81129230. 
 
Moreover, for the policy objective of restric ting and controlling the production, consumption 
and exportation of products of high pollution, hi gh energy consumption and exhaustible resource, 
China further revised the export VAT rebate policy on  1 July 2007. This policy revision affected 2831 
products of HS 8-digit tariff heading which accounte d for 37% of all HS 8-digit tariff headings in 
2007.  Among the 2831 products: 
  G/C/W/591 
 Page 3 
 
 
  (1) export VAT rebate on 553 items was abo lished, including endangered animal, plant 
and their products, salt, solvent oil, cement, liquefied propane, liquefied butane, liquefied petroleum gas, fertilizer, chem-industry products such as chlorine and dyestuff, metal carbide and active carbon, leather, some wood floor and one-off wood products etc.  
(2) export VAT rebate rate on 2268 items was lo wered, including vegetable oil, some of 
chemical products, plastic products, ru bber and its products, bags, suitcases and 
trunks, other leather and fur products, paper products, clot hing, footwear, umbrella, 
feather products, part of the stone, ceramic, glass, pearl, precious stone, gem and their products, part of steel products, planer, slotting machine, cutter, drawstring, diesel 
engine, diesel pump, diesel fan, diesel valv e and parts, converter, coke oven, sewing 
machine, stapler, golf vehicles, snow vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, elevator and its parts, taps, soldiering machine, furniture, cl ocks and watches, toys, some of the wood 
products. 
(3) 10 items which had been subject to e xport VAT were exempted, including peanut 
kernels, painting, sculpture board, stamps and stamp tax note.  
 
China submitted to the WTO a new and full no tification of quantitative restrictions of the 
year 2007, which will reflect detailed informa tion on these export non-tariff measures, including 
quota volume (if applicable).  
 
4.9  State Trading Entities  
(a) progressive abolishment of state trading in respect of silk measures, increasing and 
extending trading rights, granting the right to  trade to all individuals no later than 1 
January 2005 
 
 There has been no change in this area since the last review.  
(b)   access to supplies of raw materials in the te xtiles sector at conditions no less favorable 
than for domestic users, and not adversely aff ected access to supplies of raw materials as 
enjoyed under existing arrangements  
 
 Access to supplies of raw materials in textile  sector for foreign users remains at the same 
conditions as for domestic users, and have not been adversely affected in this area.  
 
(c)   progressive increases in access by non state tr ading entities to trade in fertilizer and oil 
and the filling of quantities available for import by non state trading entities  
 
 For the purpose of expanding the market access for non-state trading enterprises of processed 
oil, crude oil and chemical fertilizer, on 5 D ecember 2006 and 12 April 2007, MOFCOM further 
issued Announcement No. 98 of 2006 and Announcement No. 33 of 2007, publishing the 7
th and 8th 
batches of non-state trading enterprises for importation of crude oil and processed oil.  Compared with 
the situation at the time of China’s accession, the number of non-state trading enterprises for 
importation of crude oil, processed oil and chem ical fertilizers has increased substantially.  
 G/C/W/591 
Page 4  
 
   From 2003 to 2007, the volume permitted for importation of crude oil non-state trading 
enterprise was respectively 9,520,000 tons, 10,950, 000 tons, 12,600,000 tons, 14,500,000 tons and 
16,680,000 tons. The volume permitted for importati on of processed oil non-state trading enterprise 
was respectively 5,300,000 tons, 6,100,000 tons, 7, 000,000 tons, 8,050,000 tons and 9,260,000 tons. 
 
2006 symbolizes the end of increase in TRQ quantity for chemical fertilizer import by non 
state-trading enterprises. Therefore, quantity of  TRQ for chemical fertilizer import by non state-
trading enterprises in 2006 and 2007 is the same. 
 
 From 2003 to 2007, the volume permitted for importation of crude oil, processed oil and 
chemical fertilizers by non-state trading enterprises were fully allocated. However, as holders of the 
volume permitted for importation by non-state trading enterprises may also consign state trading enterprises to import, it is technically not feasible at this stage for the Cu stoms authorities to have 
statistics of the imports of the non-state trading enterprises and therefore the import performance by 
non-state trading enterprises is difficult to be confirmed with Customs statistics.  
4.10  Government Procurement 
 (a) Laws, regulations and procedures 
 
 There has been no change in this area since the last review.  
 
(b) Procurement in a transparent manner and application   
   There has been no change in this area since the last review. 
 
 
__________