State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Trade Credit Investigation System

Issued: June 30 2004
Effective: as of date of issue
Interpreting authority: State Administration of Foreign Exchange
Applicability: "Trade credit" means assets and liabilities arising directly from the provision of credit between sellers and buyers that are involved in trading of goods between Chinese residents and overseas (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) non-residents, that is, claims and debts resulting from the non-synchronization between payment of funds for goods and transfer of their ownership (Article 2).

Main contents: Trade credit investigation targets are foreign trade operators within China that are directly engaged in the import and export of goods with overseas parties (Article 3). Investigation targets shall comply with the requirements of the foreign exchange administration to establish accounts for receipts and payments in relation to import and export of goods, and report the complete and accurate statistical data on trade credit to the foreign exchange administration at the locality every half year (Articles 4 and 8).
Related legislation: PRC Statistics Law (Revised), May 15 1996, CLP 1996 No.6 p10; People's Bank of China, Declaration of Balance of Payments Statistics Procedures, Sep 14 1995, CLP 1995 No.10 p9 and Declaration of Balance of Payments Statistics Procedures Implementing Rules