PROVISIONS OF THE STATE COUNCIL ON THE OPENING OF PORTS
PROVISIONS OF THE STATE COUNCIL ON THE OPENING OF PORTS
Important Notice:
This English document is coming from the "LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA GOVERNING FOREIGN-RELATED MATTERS" (1991.7)
which is compiled by the Brueau of Legislative Affairs of the State
Council of the People's Republic of China, and is published by the China
Legal System Publishing House.
In case of discrepancy, the original version in Chinese shall prevail.
Whole Document
PROVISIONS OF THE STATE COUNCIL ON THE OPENING OF PORTS
(Promulgated on September 18, 1985)
With the development of our foreign trade, international exchanges and
tourisms, more ports will be opened. These Provisions are formulated in
order to strengthen the work in the examination and approval for opening
ports to foreign countries.
1. The term "ports" referred to in these Provisions denotes the harbours,
airports, stations, thoroughfares, etc., which are used for personnel,
goods or means of transport to enter or leave the country. The ports in
our country are divided into two categories. Category-1 ports refer to
those ports which have been opened upon the approval of the State Council
(including those administered by the Central Government and some of the
ports administered by the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities
directly under the Central Government); category-2 ports refer to those
ports which have been opened upon approval by the people's governments at
the provincial level and are administered by them.
2. The opening and closing of ports shall be announced and executed after
the examination and approval by the State Council or the people's
governments at the provincial level.
3. Organs in charge of frontier inspection, Customs, harbour
superintendency, quarantine, quarantine for animals and plants, commodity
inspection, etc., as well as other port organs stipulated by State shall
be set up at the open ports according to the actual needs.
4. Criteria for the division of the two categories of ports:
(1) The following are category-1 ports:
A. ports open to vessels, planes, vehicles and other means of transport of
foreign nationality used to transport passengers and goods into or out of
China through sea, land or air;
B. ports for use only by Chinese vessels, planes and vehicles transporting
passengers and goods out of or into the country through sea, land or air;
C. spots on the sea within our territorial waters where vessels of foreign
nationality are allowed to enter or leave for the purpose of delivering
goods.
(2) The following are category-2 ports:
A. spots for loading and unloading, starting shipment and delivering goods
for Chinese vessels engaged in foreign trade where the formalities for
exit and entry inspection and examination are conducted by personnel sent
from other ports;
B. ports where border trade in small amounts and contacts between people
are carried out with local governments of neighbouring countries;
C. ports restricted to the exit or entry of the local residents in the
border areas.
5. The procedures for report and approval:
(1) Category-1 ports: the relevant ministries (or bureaus) or the people's
governments of the provinces where the harbours, wharves, stations,
airports and thoroughfares in question are situated shall, after
consultation with the military area commands, submit the application to
the State Council for approval, with copies of the application sent to the
Leading Group for Port Affairs of the State Council, the Headquarters of
the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army and the relevant
competent departments.
(2) Category-2 ports: The people's governments of the regions where the
ports in question are situated shall first obtain the agreement of the
military area commands concerned and the Navy, and hold consultations with
the units in charge of port inspection and examination. Applications shall
then be submitted to the people's governments at the provisional level for
approval, with copies of which sent to the Leading Group for Port Affairs
under the State Council and the relevant competent departments for the
record.
6. The following materials should be attached to application for opening a
port:
(1) A feasibility report, the materials concerning the basic conditions of
the ports, the volume of passenger transport and freight volume in the
last three years, and the potential economic results and the prospects for
development.
(2) The plan for the establishment of such port organs as offices in
charge of inspection and examination, offices for port affairs and
branches of the Bank of China, according to the task for transporting
passengers and goods.
(3) Plans for constructing inspection and examination grounds and for
building facilities for office work and the daily life of the staff
members, as well as investment budget and source of funds.
7. Final check-up and acceptance before a port is opened:
(1) Before a new port is opened, the establishment of organs and the
provisions of staff members of offices in charge of traffic safety, for
telecommunications, combined inspection and examination as well as
facilities for office work and daily life must go through the procedure of
final check-up and acceptance. New ports may be opened only after the
facilities are finally checked and accepted.
(2) The office of the Leading Group for Port Affairs of the State Council
shall be responsible for the check-up and acceptance of category-1 ports.
The offices for port affairs in the provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities directly under the Central Government or other competent
departments in charge of port affairs shall be responsible for the check-
up and acceptance of category-2 ports.
8. The competence for examination and approval of applications for
temporarily entry and exit at the non-open areas of our country:
(1) Applications by vessels of Chinese or foreign nationality for
temporarily entry or exit at non-open harbours or coastal waters of China
shall be examined and approved by the Ministry of Communications and
reported to the Leading Group for Port Affairs of the State Council for
the record. Before the applications are submitted for approval, the
agreement of the competent authorities for military affairs, the local
people's governments and the relevant units in charge of examination and
inspection shall be obtained, and the details of the examination and
inspection work shall be arranged.
(2) Applications by civil planes of Chinese or foreign nationality for
temporarily take-offs or landings at China's non-open airports shall be
examined and approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China,
which, however, should obtain the agreement of the competent authorities
for military affairs. Applications by non-civil planes shall be examined
and approved by the competent authorities for military affairs. Both kinds
of applications must be reported to the Leading Group for Port Affairs of
the State Council for the record. Before the applications are submitted
for approval, the agreement of the local people's governments and the
relevant departments for examination and inspection should be obtained,
and the details of the examination and inspection work shall be arranged.
(3) Applications by vehicle and personnel of Chinese or foreign
nationality for temporarily entry and exit at our non-open border areas on
land shall be examined and approved by the people's governments at the
provincial level. Before the applications are submitted for approval, the
agreement of the relevant provincial military area command and the
department of public security shall be obtained, and the details of the
examination and inspection work shall be arranged.
9. New ports shall be opened according to the relevant State or local
plans. The competent departments under the State Council, and the
provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the
Central Government, shall send plans (drafts) of opening ports to the
Leading Group for Port Affairs of the State Council two months before a
planned year begins, with copies sent to the State Planning Commission,
the Ministry of Labour and Personnel and the relevant competent
departments of the units in charge of inspection and examination.
10. The sources of funds for building facilities for inspection and
examination at the open ports:
(1) The Central Government shall be responsible for providing the funds
for the ports under its administration. The local people's governments
shall be responsible for providing funds for the ports under their
administration.
(2) Where grounds for combined inspection and examinations are needed in
such port construction projects (including projects with foreign
investment and Chinese and foreign equity joint-venture projects) as
harbours, wharves, railway stations and airports (including those which
have been transformed from military airports used for both military and
civilian purposes) as well as in such projects as newly-built operation
areas at old ports and new harbour areas in economic development zones,
the construction of these grounds shall be incorporated into the plans of
the main projects of the prescribed harbours, wharves, railway stations
and airports. The investment needed for the construction of these grounds
shall be incorporated in the investment for the main projects. The
competent departments for port construction projects shall organize the
relevant units to carry out research on the investment structure for the
construction of the facilities for office work and for the daily life of
the staff members (including dormitories) of the units in charge of
inspection and examination and present itemized reports to the State
Planning Commission for examination and approval. After the approval is
obtained, the investment shall be transferred to the provinces, autonomous
regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government where the
ports are situated. The local people's governments shall be responsible
for the unified planning, designing and construction of the ports. Where
military airports are to be transformed into airports for both military
and civilian purposes, agreement should be obtained from the Air Force or
the Navy beforehand. In the case that the construction is to be carried
out within the airports, the units responsible for the construction may
submit draft plans, which shall be incorporated in the unified plans of
the Air Force or the Navy.
(3) Where the existing harbours, wharves, railway stations and airports
directly under the administration of various ministries (or bureaus) need
to be opened, the grounds for combined inspection and examination for
these ports shall, in principle, be set up by making use of the existing
buildings and facilities. If it is necessary to extend the original
buildings or build new grounds for combined inspection and examination,
the competent departments for the harbours, wharves, railway stations and
airports shall be responsible for the investment. The investment for the
construction of the facilities for office work and the daily life of the
staff members (including dormitories) of the units in charge of inspection
and examination shall, in principle, be provided by their respective
competent departments. In the extreme cases of difficulty with respect to
investment, the State or the local governments may provide appropriate
subsidies. The investment shall be turned over to the relevant people's
governments, which are held responsible for the completion of the
construction.
(4) The local people's governments shall be responsible for the investment
and construction of the grounds for combined inspection and examination
and the infrastructure facilities for office work and the daily life of
the staff members (including dormitories) of the units in charge of
inspection and examination, which are needed in their newly-opened ports.
(5) The construction plans and sources of investment for international
seamen's clubs shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of
Paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of this Article.
(6) The means of transport, instruments, equipment, etc., needed by the
units in charge of inspection and examination shall be provided by their
respective competent departments.
(7) Within grounds for combined inspection and examination, the rooms for
office work and other related purposes (including water, electricity and
inner-city telephone) which have been assigned to the units in charge of
inspection and examination shall be provided free of charge by the
business units of the harbours, wharves, railway stations and airports
(including those used for both military and civilian purposes).
11. These Provisions shall be interpreted by the office of the Leading
Group for Port Affairs of the State Council.
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