CHINA  EXPORT CONTROL INFORMATION

China is not a member of the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, or the Wassenaar Arrangement. However, China does maintain lists of items controlled for export. Military items are detailed on the Administrative List of Export of Military Products, which identifies specific military goods controlled for export. Dual Use-Items are detailed in the Index of Management of Import and Export Permits of Dual-Use Items and Technologies, which also covers nuclear, biological, chemical, and missile-related dual-use goods. The lists are available in Chinese only.

Export Controls are administered and enforced by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the Chinese Customs Bureau and the State Council and Central Military Commission.

Under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 C.F.R. Parts 730 – 774), a license is required to export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) certain controlled items to end users in China. See the Commerce Control List in Supplement No. 1 to Part 774 of the EAR for item-specific information. U.S. exporters are required to obtain an End-User Statement from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) for license applications involving items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) valued over $50,000. In certain circumstances, an End-User Statement may be required for transactions of a lower dollar value. (15 C.F.R. § 748.10)

Generally, the licensing policy for China is to approve items for civil end use to civil end users. In addition to the license requirements for items specified on the CCL, there are additional restrictions on items listed in Supplement No. 2 to Part 744 of the EAR if you have knowledge that those items are intended, entirely or in part, for a military end user or end use. In addition, a license is required for any item subject to the EAR if you have knowledge that the items are intended, entirely or in part, for a military-intelligence end use or end user. Similarly, there are licensing requirements for any item subject to the EAR where you have knowledge that the item will be used for certain weapons of mass destruction-related end uses. These license applications generally are reviewed with a presumption of denial. See Parts 742 and 744 of the EARS for additional license review policies and end use and end user controls. Additional party-based license requirements also exist and generally apply to all items subject to the EAR; these parties are included on the U.S. Government Consolidated Screening List.

Exporters are urged to check lists identifying specific parties (persons, companies, and entities) that are under U.S. government sanctions or for whom export licenses or other authorization may be required. Information on these lists, which include the Entity List, Denied Persons List, Unverified List, Military End-User List, Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, and Debarred List, is available on the BIS website at www.bis.doc.gov. Exporters who engage in unauthorized transactions with listed parties may themselves become subject to administrative and/or criminal penalties.

Inclusion on BIS’s Entity List creates a license requirement for the export of items of items subject to the EAR to listed parties supplemental to those elsewhere in the EAR. Exports to listed parties generally require a license regardless of the commodity classification (EAR99 or under an ECCN). Specific license requirements are included within the party’s Entity List entry. For example, a listing may indicate a license requirement for only those items on the CCL or for only specified ECCNs. Entities for which there is reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable facts, that the entity has been involved, is involved, or poses a significant risk of being or becoming involved in activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States and those acting on behalf of such entities may be added to the Entity List. In recent years, the additions of Chinese entities on the Entity List have been predicated upon a determination that those entities have been involved in prohibited military end use shipments, unlicensed shipments to embargoed destinations, human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or against people from that region, and military activities in the South China Sea, amongst other reasons.

Exporters should also consult the updated Xinjiang Supply Chain Business advisory for additional information relevant to conducting business within the Xinjiang Province of China. On July 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of State, alongside the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the U.S. Department of Labor issued an updated Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory to highlight the heightened risks for businesses with supply chain and investment links to Xinjiang, given the entities complicity in forced labor and other human rights abuses there and throughout China. https://www.state.gov/xinjiang-supply-chain-business-advisory/.

Validated End-User Program

End users in China can apply for the Validated End-User (VEU) program. This allows end users who have an established track record of exclusive engagement in appropriate end-use activities to receive exports of specified items for civil end uses without the need for their suppliers to first obtain individual export or reexport licenses. Interested companies can apply by submitting a request for an advisory opinion to BIS, as described in Section 748.15 of the EAR.

Additional Information

U.S. exporters should consult the EAR for information on how export license requirements may apply to the sale of their goods to China. If necessary, a commodity classification request may be submitted to determine how an item is controlled (i.e., the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN)). Exporters may also request a written advisory opinion from BIS about the application of EAR’s end use and end user-based licensing requirements. Information on commodity classifications, advisory opinions, and export licenses can be obtained through the BIS website at www.bis.doc.gov.

Additional information about the export controls administered by BIS may be obtained from BIS’s website (www.bis.doc.gov), by contacting one of BIS’s counseling desks, or the BIS Export Control Officers at the U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Embassy Beijing.

BIS Export Control Officers (Beijing, China):
Tel: (86) (10) 8531-3301
Tel: (86) (10) 8531-4484

CHINA BUSINESS REGISTRY

Importer/exporter directory:
http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/

Business registry: http://gsxt.saic.gov.cn/
China Commercial Guide:
China - Market Overview (trade.gov)