Circular of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation
and the Ministry of Construction Concerning Circulating the Relevant
Provisions Concerning the Handling of Quality and Safety Problems of
Foreign Contracted Projects

October 15, 2002

The Department (Commission or Administration) of Foreign Trade and
Economic Cooperation and the Department (Commission) of Construction
of all provinces, autonomous regions, centrally governed
municipalities and municipalities separately listed on the State
plan, the relevant enterprises under the jurisdiction of the Central
Government, all economic and commercial institutions stationed
abroad:
　　With a view to carry out the strategy of "winning through high
quality", enhancing the supervision and administration of the
Chinese enterprises that contract projects abroad, and promoting the
healthy development of the cause of foreign contracting projects,
the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the
Ministry of Construction have jointly formulated the Relevant
Provisions Concerning the Handling of Quality and Safety Problems of
Foreign Contracted Projects (see Attachment) on the basis of
relevant statutory provisions including the Construction Law of the
People''s Republic of China and the Foreign Trade Law of the
People''s Republic of China, etc. It is hereby distributed to you.
We hope that you will implement it and forward it to other relevant
entities.

Attachment:
Provisions Concerning the Handling of Quality and Safety Problems of
Foreign Contracted Projects

Article 1 The present Provisions have been formulated on the basis
of relevant laws and administrative regulations including the
Construction Law of the People''s Republic of China and the Foreign
Trade Law of the People''s Republic of China, etc. for the purpose
of enhancing the supervision and administration of the enterprises
contracting projects abroad and promoting the healthy development of
the business of contracting projects abroad.
Article 2 The term "contracting project" as mentioned in the present
Provisions refers to the surveying, designing, construction, quality
control and other engineering service activities conducted abroad by
the enterprises within the territory of the People''s Republic of
China and exterritorial enterprises by way of establishing equity
joint ventures or cooperation (hereafter "intra-territorial
enterprises").
Article 3 The present Provisions shall apply to the handling of
quality and safety problems incurred in the contracting of projects
abroad by intra-territorial enterprises.
Article 4 An enterprise that contracts projects abroad shall have
obtained certificates of enterprises qualifications for surveying,
designing, construction and quality control, etc. issued by the
administrative departments of construction, and shall have obtained
a Qualifications Certificate for Foreign Economic Cooperative
Management as issued by the administrative department of foreign
trade and economic cooperation under the State Council. An
enterprise contracting projects abroad shall engage in the
contracting of projects abroad within the scope allowed by its
qualification grade and Certificate of Qualifications for Foreign
Economic Cooperative Management.
　　Where an enterprise that has already obtained a Certificate of
Qualifications for Foreign Economic Cooperative Management but not
yet obtained a certificate of enterprises qualifications for
surveying, designing, construction and quality control shall obtain
corresponding qualification certificates according to relevant
provisions concerning the administration of qualifications.
Article 5 The performances and quality and safety situation of the
intra-territorial enterprises contracting projects abroad shall form
the content of the enterprise qualification administration in terms
of surveying, designing, construction, and quality control, etc.
exercised by the domestic organs.
Article 6 The performances of contracting projects abroad may be
used as the performances for the enterprise concerned to apply for
the certificate of enterprise qualifications for surveying,
designing, construction, and quality control, etc. and for the
annual inspection of qualifications. An enterprise that declares
performances of contracting projects abroad shall submit
corresponding declaration materials according to the provisions
concerning the administration of qualifications.
Article 7 Where any of the following quality or safety accidents or
serious quality or safety problems occurs in the contracting of
projects abroad, the enterprise that contracts projects abroad
shall, within 24 hours as of the accident takes place, report to the
economic and commercial institution under the Chinese embassy
(consulate) stationed abroad, and the economic and commercial
institution under the embassy (consulate) stationed abroad shall
report to the administrative department of construction under the
State Council, and send a copy to the administrative department of
foreign trade and economic cooperation under the State Council:
a. A quality or safety accident causing one death and more or three
serious injuries and more or causing direct economic losses of over
1 million yuan;
b. Causing other problems of quality or safety by seriously
violating the laws or regulations concerning engineering
construction and technology or the coercive standards adopted by the
country or region where the project is situated;
c. Other acts that violate the laws or regulations concerning
quality and safety which have brought about bad consequences in the
country or region where the project is situated.
Article 8 In case any serious quality or safety accident or any
other serious problem of quality or safety incurs in the contracting
of projects abroad which has brought about abominable effects in the
country or region where the project is situated, the administrative
department of foreign trade and economic cooperation under the State
Council and the administrative department of construction under the
State Council may organize joint investigation groups to make
investigations.
Article 9 With regard to the enterprises that have had quality or
safety accidents or any other serious problem of quality or safety
in the process of contracting projects abroad, the administrative
department of construction shall deal with them in accordance with
the Provisions Concerning the Qualifications Administration of
Construction Enterprises (Order No. 87 of the Ministry of
Construction) and other relevant provisions. The administrative
department of foreign trade and economic cooperation shall give them
warnings or dejecting the annual inspection of the Qualifications
Certificate for Foreign Economic Cooperative Management thereof
according to the relevant provisions.
Article 10 With regard to the enterprises that conceal the quality
or safety accidents or the serious problems of quality or safety in
their contracting of projects abroad, they, apart from being dealt
with according toArticle 9 of the present Provisions, may not apply
for the promotion of qualifications grade or for adding new
qualifications. Neither may they apply for expanding the scope of
foreign economic cooperative management.
Article 11 The administrative departments of foreign trade and
economic cooperation and the administrative departments of
construction shall record the serious accidents of quality or safety
and the serious problems of quality or safety incurred in the
contracting of projects abroad into the credit files of the
enterprises involved, and have them published on the relevant
websites.

Article 12 The present Provisions shall apply by reference to the
handling of quality and safety problems incurred in the contracting
of projects in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the
Macao Special Administrative Region and the Taiwan Region.

Article 13 The interpretations concerning the present Provisions
shall be subject to the joint making of the administrative
department of foreign trade and economic cooperation under the State
Council and the administrative department of construction under the
State Council.

Article 14 The present Provisions shall enter into force as of
December 1, 2002.