Published by ChinaMNC · Xinbinmanzu

China's Government Information Disclosure Platform: A Practical Guide for Foreign Founders

A practical overview of China's government information disclosure system and platform, explaining what foreign founders can look up, how disclosure requests work, and which planning and annual report documents are published.

What This Government Platform Is

The Chinese government operates an official information disclosure platform that centralizes documents government bodies are required to publish. For foreign founders setting up or running a company in China, the platform is a reference point for understanding how administrative information is organized and where to look for policy documents. The page is a directory rather than a single article: it hosts regulatory texts, planning documents, and annual work reports from many agencies.

The platform carries standard site registration identifiers and filing numbers, and it includes a search function with document-number, drafting-date, and publication-date fields. If a search returns nothing, the page suggests checking the input, simplifying search terms, or trying similar or common words.

Core Rules Published on the Platform

Among the regulatory documents listed is the Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Disclosure of Government Information, dated 15 April 2019. This is the foundational rule for how government information is disclosed.

The platform also lists a series of notices and interpretations from the General Office of the State Council and its government information and openness office. These cover:

• Measures for formulating disclosure rules for public enterprises and public institutions (notice dated 21 December 2020).
• Administrative measures for information processing fees related to government information disclosure (notice dated 1 December 2020).
• Guiding opinions, forwarded from the Ministry of Justice, on issues in hearing administrative reconsideration cases concerning government information disclosure (notice dated 4 January 2022).
• A notice on centralized publication and dynamic updating of rules and regulations (dated 29 October 2021).
• A notice on the format of annual reports on government information disclosure work (dated 29 September 2021).
• A notice on matters relating to standardizing government information disclosure platforms (dated 3 December 2019).

Several interpretive documents address practical questions: how disclosure applications are handled after institutional reform (11 February 2019); which channels can receive applications (24 October 2017); which entity is responsible for replying to applications (24 October 2017); how to fill in items in annual reports (24 October 2017); how decisions on disclosure are delivered (24 October 2017); and how to distinguish government information disclosure from general business inquiries (24 October 2017).

Planning Documents Found on the Platform

The platform publishes national economic and social development plans, including the outlines of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan, the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan and the 2035 long-range objectives, and earlier five-year outlines going back to the Tenth Five-Year Plan.

It also lists special plans, including State Council approvals and notices on:

• A special education development action plan for the Fifteenth Five-Year period.
• An intellectual property protection and utilization plan for the Fifteenth Five-Year period.
• A national fitness plan for 2026–2030.
• A consumption expansion plan for the Fifteenth Five-Year period.
• A national health plan for the Fifteenth Five-Year period.
• A plan for the revitalization and development of traditional Chinese medicine for the Fifteenth Five-Year period.

Local development plans are indexed by province, region, and municipality, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang.

Annual Disclosure Reports

The platform publishes annual government information disclosure work reports for 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020. These are organized into three groups.

Provincial-level reports. Reports from provincial, regional, and municipal governments follow the same geographic list used for local plans.

Vertically managed systems. Reports are published for systems such as the People's Bank system, customs, taxation, financial supervision, securities regulation, meteorology, grain and strategic reserves, tobacco, railways, civil aviation, postal services, mine safety supervision, fire and rescue, and foreign exchange. The 2022 list also includes the banking and insurance regulator.

State Council departments. Reports are listed for ministries and agencies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the People's Bank of China, the National Audit Office, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the National Radio and Television Administration, the General Administration of Sport, the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration, the National Bureau of Statistics, the National Intellectual Property Administration, the China International Development Cooperation Agency, the National Healthcare Security Administration, the National Government Offices Administration, the National Press and Publication Administration, the National Copyright Administration, the China Meteorological Administration, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, the National Energy Administration, the National Data Administration, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, the National Immigration Administration, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the National Railway Administration, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the State Post Bureau, the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, the National Mine Safety Administration, the National Fire and Rescue Administration, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the National Medical Products Administration, the National Civil Service Bureau, the National Archives Administration, the National Administration of State Secrets Protection, the China Film Administration, and the China Earthquake Administration.

How Foreign Founders Can Use It

Use the platform to locate primary documents rather than summaries. Check drafting and publication dates to confirm which version of a rule applies. Use the search tips when documents are hard to find. For matters not published proactively, the interpretive documents indicate that disclosure applications have defined receiving channels, responsible reply entities, and delivery rules. The fee measures notice indicates that processing fees may apply. The interpretation distinguishing disclosure from business inquiries suggests general business questions should be directed elsewhere.

Annual reports can show how agencies approach disclosure and what they publish. The rule requiring centralized publication and dynamic updates suggests the platform is intended to stay current, but founders should verify specific documents directly.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.