Laws of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the State Economic and Trade Commission, the State Archives Administration

Interim Provisions on the Archive Management of the Enterprises with Foreign Investment

Promulgated by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the State Economic and Trade Commission and the State Archives Administration on December 29, 1994

Article 1

This set of provisions are formulated in accordance with the "Archive Law of the People's Republic of China" and relevant State laws and regulations in concern with archives of enterprises with foreign investment (including Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, Chinese-foreign contractual joint ventures and foreign-capital enterprises) with a view to strengthen their management, protection and the use of their archives for safeguarding their own legal rights and interests.

Article 2

The archives of the enterprises with foreign investment are referred to here as various documents and materials (including on different forms of carriers) which arise from various activities of the enterprises with foreign investment since preparations of their construction and which are of utilization and preservation value to the enterprises, the State and the society.

Article 3

The archives of the enterprises with foreign investment should be owned by the enterprises, and protected by State laws. The enterprises bear the responsibility of protecting the archives.

Article 4

The management of the archives in the enterprises with foreign investment is a basic part of their work in management, a work to safeguard the economic interests, legal rights and interests and maintain the true history of the enterprises with foreign investment and so it should be seen as a part of the entire archive work of the State. The major part for the work is to implement relevant State laws and regulations about the archive work, establish and improve the regulations and systems for managing their own archives, and engage in a unified management of their own archives and give a supervision and guidance over the archive work of their affiliated units.

Article 5

The enterprises with foreign investment should improve their leadership over the archive work, list the archive work in their management plans and set up an agency and designate people to take charge of the archive work.

Personnel responsible for the archive management should have professional knowledge and skill for archive and enterprise management.

Government archive administrative departments at all levels and department concerned for the administration of enterprises with foreign investment have the right to supervise and check the archive work of the affiliated units of the enterprises with foreign investment of the same trade or the same level administrative region, and provide them with relevant service.

Article 6

Archives of the enterprises with foreign investment mainly include:

1.

Documents and materials about the enterprises with foreign investment's applications for and approval and registration of their setting up and the account settling following their termination and disbanding (which include the rules and contracts signed by investors with regard to their investments and cooperation);

2.

Documents and materials which are worked out by the boards of directors or joint administrative organs;

3.

Documents and materials about financial affairs, accounting and management of the enterprises with foreign investment;

4.

Documents and materials about labor wages, personnel and legal affairs of the enterprises with foreign investment;

5.

Documents and materials about businesses and management of the enterprises with foreign investment;

6.

Documents and materials about the management of production and technology of the enterprises with foreign investment;

7.

Documents and materials about the production and products of the enterprises with foreign investment;

8.

Documents and materials about instruments and meters and equipment of the enterprises with foreign investment;

9.

Documents and materials about capital construction of the enterprises with foreign investment;

10.

Documents and materials about scientific and technological research, technical import and transfer of the enterprises with foreign investment;

11.

Documents and materials about education and training of the personnel of the enterprises with foreign investment;

12.

Documents and materials about information of the enterprises with foreign investment;

13.

Documents and materials of the Chinese Communist Party organizations and trade unions in the enterprises with foreign investment; and

14.

Other documents and materials of the enterprises with foreign investment that have utilization and preservation values.

Article 7

The various departments of the enterprises with foreign investment should in principle be responsible for sorting and filing their own documents and materials and hand over them to archive department or the department designated regularly in line with the relevant provisions of the enterprises with foreign investment.

Article 8

The archives of the enterprises with foreign investment should be scientifically sorted out and arranged by referring to the State norms and international advanced method.

Article 9

The enterprises with foreign investment should have suitable storehouse, necessary facilities and protecting equipment to keep the archives so as to ensure their safety. enterprises with foreign investment which do not have the condition for safe protection of archives may entrust an authoritative department or local State archives to well keep the archives for them. Those entrusted with keeping of the archives must ensure the safety of the archives and provide all services for the owner of the archives.

Article 10

The enterprises with foreign investment should draw up time limits for keeping the archives in line with their actual values and relevant State provisions. There are three time limits, namely permanent, long-term and short-term, for keeping archives. Those which of value for long-term reference, use and research are permanent ones; those which are of value for reference and use for a certain period of time are long-term or short-term ones; and those which are kept for a period between the two may be regarded as long-term archives.

Article 11

The enterprises with foreign investment should give appraisal to those archives whenever the deadline for keeping them is due. The appraising work is undertaken directly by an appraising group which is made up of leading officials of the enterprises, professional personnel and archivists. Those archives which have lost the value of preservation should be listed and be destroyed with the approval of the boards of directors of the enterprises with foreign investment. Lists of the destroyed should be kept permanently. Among them, the accounting archives should be kept in accordance with relevant provisions in the "Accountancy Law of the People's Republic of China".

Article 12

Chinese and foreign partners of the enterprises with foreign investment have the right to use the archives and the enterprises concerned should set up complete and strict systems of using the archives and guard against their loss and leakage.

The enterprises with foreign investment should provide convenience to relevant departments of the Chinese Government that need to look up for the archives.

Article 13

After enterprises with foreign investment are terminated or disbanded, the archives of the Sino-foreign joint equity ventures and the Sino-foreign cooperative ventures should be given to the original Chinese sides to keep or be handed over to the local State archives. The archives of the solely foreign-owned enterprises should be dealt with in line with the following:

1.

If a solely foreign-owned enterprise is extended, separated or merged or there are other changes, its archives should be handed over to the enterprise thus formed;

2.

The archives of the solely foreign-owned enterprises should be handled in accordance with the provisions in Article 11 of this set of provisions when their operation time expires or they declare bankrupt according to law;

3.

If an enterprise is ordered to close because of violating laws and regulations, its archives should be handled with the decisions of relevant organs; and

4.

The original solely foreign-owned enterprises may keep the reproductions of relevant archives if they need.

Article 14

Those who have one of the following acts shall be dealt with administratively of shall be punished according to the seriousness of the case; those who cause losses shall be ordered to compensate according to the value and quantity of the archives; the party that commits crime shall be investigated and be affixed with criminal responsibility according to laws:

1.

Those who damage, lose or destroy without authorization documents, materials and archives which should be filed and kept;

2.

Those who alter and fabricate archives;

3.

Those who secretly sell and resell archives;

4.

Those who secretly obtain and illegally take archives out of the country; and

5.

Archivists who are derelict of their duty and cause losses.

Article 15

This set of provisions are applied to the enterprises with foreign investment which are established on the Chinese mainland by companies, enterprises, other economic organizations or individuals from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions.

Article 16

The State Archives Administration is responsible for interpreting this set of provisions.

Article 17

This set of provisions shall enter into force as of the date of promulgation.