For a Chinese company to engage in the import and export of goods on their own, one critical document they need is the “China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate”.
This article provides some background information on this certificate and an overview of why it is so important to Chinese exporters.
What is a China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate?
This is what the certificate looks like if you have ever received a scan or photo of the original document before.
What Information is Contained in a China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate?
From top to bottom and left to right, the fields are as follows:
- Registration Certificate Number (备案登记表编号)
- Import and Export Enterprise Code (进出口企业代码)
- Operating Chinese Name (经营者中文名称)
- Operating English Name (经营者英文名称)
- Organization Code (组织机构代码)
- Business Type as filed by the Registration Bureau (经营者类型（由备案登记机关填写）)
- Address (住所)
- Business Address in Chinese (经营场所（中文）)
- Business Address in English (经营场所（英文）)
- Phone Number (联系电话)
- Fax Number (联系传真)
- Postcode (邮政编码)
- E-mail (电子邮箱)
- Industrial and commercial registration Date (工商登记注册日期)
- Industrial and commercial registration Number (工商登记注册号)
- Legal Representative (企业法定代表人姓名)
- ID Number (有效证件号)
- Registered Capital in USD (注册资金（折美元）)
- Legal Representative / Individual Responsible Person (企业法定代表人/个体工商负责人姓名)
- Enterprise Assets / Personal Assets in USD (企业资产/个人资产（折美元）)
Who Issues a China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate?
A China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate is issued to a company through the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) or an alternate authority appointed by MOFCOM.
Who Uses the China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate?
The China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate is not required for all Chinese companies; only for those engaged in importing and exporting.
When doing business with a Chinese company, be sure to check they have a legitimate China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate as well as a China Customs Registration Certificate. If a foreign trade operator fails to hold this documentation, customs will not carry out the procedures for declaration, inspection and release of the imported or exported goods.
We have previously explained how to distinguish between different Chinese Trade and Customs documents.
Note that according to this directive, some foreign-invested companies engaging in foreign trade do not require this registration.
How to Verify a China Foreign Trade Registration Certificate?
If a company provides you with a foreign trade registration certificate or even just their registration number, it may be possible to verify this with records in the official government database.
For a more convenient service China Checkup can quickly verify any China foreign trade registration certificate, check out our service today!
