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中国的企业社会信用体系

20个常见问题

The following shows a selection of frequently answered questions in conjunction with China’s Corporate Social Credit System (“CSCS”) and reflects the most recent regulatory developments until January 2023.

Regulatory Purpose of CSCS

Q1: What is the regulatory purpose of China’s Corporate Social Credit System?

A1: The regulatory purpose of CSCS is to incentivize those companies, which are compliant with Chinese laws and to punish those, which are not compliant. The Chinese regulator has developed various tools for punishing and awarding certain conducts of companies doing business in China. Most significant for companies are the CSCS ratings. CSCS provides a number of specific ratings in specific areas (e.g. tax, customs and environmental). The ratings results, which are often based on scores, provide regulatory and business related positive and negative impacts on the individual company. High CSCS ratings can trigger advantages for the company, such as the accelerated process for approvals from authorities, easier access to get loans from banks and easier access to acquire land-use rights from the Chinese government. Low CSCS ratings can trigger disadvantages on the company, such as the restricted issuance of governmental approvals and increased inspection rates by authorities on the company’s operation. Further, companies may be added under certain requirements on the positive redlist, close-watch list or on the negative blacklist in specific areas by different authorities. In addition to the CSCS ratings, companies may be subject to CSCS disciplinary actions. CSCS disciplinary actions shall be imposed on those companies, which have been involved in certain misconducts as compiled in a specific list by the Chinese regulator. Disciplinary actions include for example restrictions on participation in bidding and government procurement activities and the ban on entering certain markets and industry sectors.

Q2: Does CSCS provide a "unified total rating" or "unified total score" for each company in China?

A2: A "unified total rating" or "unified total score" for each company in China is currently not provided under CSCS. However, it is to be expected that the Chinese regulator will develop a system of a unified rating and unified scoring at a later stage. CSCS provides currently specific ratings and scorings for specific areas. For example, for environmental CSCS provides for a 4-level rating system (green card - blue card - yellow card - red card), which is linked to certain scores. For tax a 5-level rating system (A - B - M - C - D) is provided, which is also linked to certain scores.

Regulatory Development of CSCS

Q3: Which authorities are driving the regulatory development of CSCS?

A3: Key drivers for the regulatory development of CSCS are the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC") and the People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”). However, there are another 40+ authorities and organizations involved in the regulatory development of CSCS, which reflects the complexity of CSCS and the need for internal coordination among the involved authorities and organizations.

Q4: What are the most recent regulatory developments in relation to CSCS?

A4: NDRC has issued on 14 November 2022 the "Law of the PRC on the Development of the Social Credit System (Draft)" ("Draft CSCS Law") for public comments to be given until 14 December 2022. It remains to be seen to which extent the public comments, which have not yet been made available, will impact the current Draft CSCS Law and when it will be issued and become effective. Further, the "National Basic List of Disciplinary Measures for Violations of Trust (2022 Edition)" ("List of Disciplinary Measures"), which has been issued on 28 December 2022 jointly by the NDRC and PBOC, became effective on 1 January 2023.

Q5: What is the key content of the Draft CSCS Law?

A5: The Draft CSCS Law provides guidance to the authorities and organizations in China, which are operating and executing CSCS.

The Draft CSCS Law provides a number of rather general inter-administrative and political statements. See for example Article 1 and Article 10 of the Draft CSCS Law.

Article 1: "This law is formulated so as to improve the social credit system, innovate mechanisms for societal governance, optimize the business environment, standardize order in the socialist market economy, raise the entire society's awareness of creditworthiness, advocate the core socialist values, and complete a credit reporting system that covers the entire society."

Article 10: "Within the scope of their legally-prescribed authority, state organs and organizations authorized by laws or regulations to have public affairs management duties shall carry out punishments for entities with untrustworthy conduct."

The Draft CSCS Law also provides guidance to the authorities and organizations for the operation of CSCS, which is reflected for example in the following provisions:

‑ The Draft CSCS Law provides clarification of the precise content of the Credit Report (see Articles 65 and 66). The Credit Report may be generated from the website of Credit China at www.creditchina.gov.cn, which is the key database of CSCS and accessible in public. The Draft CSCS Law clarifies that only the information from those databases, which are listed in the National Basic Catalog of Public Credit Information may be added in the Credit Report.

‑ The Draft CSCS Law provides that the collection and operation of the data, i.e. of the credit information for CSCS, must strictly follow PRC laws and regulations, and that certain conducts are forbidden. For example, the Draft CSCS Law (see Article 62) emphasizes that credit information may not be stolen, fabricated or improperly deleted, and that credit information may not be leaked, if there is no authorization for disclosure.

‑ As a rule of thumb the Draft CSCS Law provides that the credit information of the involved companies, which refers to decisions or judgements of PRC administrative or PRC judicial organs shall be stored for five years from the date on which the administrative or judicial organ made the decision or judgement (see Article 63).

‑ The Draft CSCS Law (see especially Articles 101 to 109) provides fines under certain requirements on those PRC governmental officials, who are breaching their obligations under this Draft CSCS Law. Fines may be up to RMB 10 million.

However, the Draft CSCS Law does not provide any provisions for the unification of the system of ratings and scoring, which shall apply to companies doing business in China. The Draft CSCS Law is rather an internal inter-administrative guidance for the operation of CSCS.

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作者

Philipp Senff 的照片
Philipp Senff
合伙人
上海
Lei Shi 的照片
Lei Shi
顾问
上海