Provisions on Promoting and Regulating the Application of Electronic Documents — Full English Translation (2026)

Adopted at the Fourth Office Meeting of the Cyberspace Administration of China on February 10, 2026, and approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Commerce, the People’s Bank of China, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Financial Regulatory Administration; promulgated by Decree No. 22 of the ten departments on April 17, 2026

Effective: September 1, 2026

Table of Contents

Chapter I — General Provisions

Article 1 — For the purpose of promoting and regulating the application of electronic documents, improving the digitalization of trade in goods and transportation, effectively reducing logistics costs across society, safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of parties to electronic document activities, and maintaining national security and the public interest, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Electronic Signature Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Maritime Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China, and other laws and administrative regulations.

Article 2 — These Provisions apply to the application of electronic documents and related administration activities carried out within the territory of the People’s Republic of China. Where laws or administrative regulations provide otherwise, those provisions shall prevail.

Article 3 — The state adheres to the principles of attaching equal importance to development and security and of combining the promotion of innovation with law-based governance, encourages the promotion and application of electronic documents, administers electronic document systems by category and by grade, and improves the level of digitalization and facilitation of trade in goods and transportation.

Article 4 — The national cyberspace administration authority and the departments of the State Council responsible for industry and information technology, public security, transportation, commerce, customs, taxation, market regulation, and financial regulation shall strengthen policy coordination and promote and regulate the application of electronic documents in accordance with their respective duties.

Article 5 — Relevant industry organizations shall strengthen industry self-discipline, establish and improve industry self-discipline systems and industry standards, and promote the regulated application and flourishing development of the ecosystem for electronic documents.

Article 6 — Relevant state departments shall promote international exchanges and cooperation in the field of electronic documents, participate in the formulation and promotion of relevant international rules, and promote relevant international mutual recognition.

The state encourages relevant enterprises and scientific research institutions to deepen interaction and exchanges with international organizations and alliances, extensively carry out international business cooperation in the field of electronic documents, and actively participate in international standardization work.

Chapter II — Promotion of the Application of Electronic Documents

Article 7 — Institutions and enterprises in the fields of trade in goods, logistics, finance, and other sectors are encouraged to recognize and use electronic documents in the course of business, improve the level of digitalization of business applications, and promote quality improvement and efficiency gains in their industries. Financial institutions are encouraged, on the premise of lawful compliance and ensuring security and in light of the characteristics of electronic documents, to explore the use of new payment methods such as the digital renminbi for cross-border payments, steadily advance the use of digital renminbi smart contracts to enhance the level of intelligent financial services, and actively yet prudently carry out innovation in financial products and service models.

Article 8 — Relevant enterprises, scientific research institutions, industry organizations, and public service institutions are encouraged to collaborate in the technological innovation of electronic documents, the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, risk prevention, and other areas, share practical experience, and promote the development and application of electronic document technology.

Article 9 — Relevant state departments shall, in accordance with their respective duties, strengthen the formulation of standards in the field of electronic documents, promptly organize the formulation of national standards, encourage industry associations, industrial technology alliances, and other social organizations and relevant enterprises to participate in the formulation of standards related to electronic documents, and orderly advance the transformation of existing industry standards into national standards.

Article 10 — Operators of electronic document systems and relevant service support providers of electronic document systems engaging in electronic document business activities shall comply with relevant laws, administrative regulations, mandatory national standards, and other regulatory requirements.

Operators of electronic document systems and relevant service support providers of electronic document systems are encouraged to adopt recommended national standards related to electronic documents, benchmark against international standards in a timely manner, and strengthen mutual recognition and sharing of electronic document information.

Article 11 — Operators of electronic document systems, relevant service support providers of electronic document systems, and users of electronic document systems are encouraged to carry out evaluation of the implementation effect of electronic document standards, feed back information on standard implementation to standard-setting institutions, and put forward suggestions for standard revision, so as to promote the continuous optimization of standards and adapt to the development needs of the industry.

Article 12 — Operators of electronic document systems shall formulate business rules, verify users’ identity information in accordance with law, conclude service agreements with users, specify the rights and obligations of both parties, and require users to undertake to comply with the law.

Relevant service support providers of electronic document systems shall conclude service agreements with operators of electronic document systems, specifying the rights and obligations of both parties.

Article 13 — Operators of Chinese electronic document systems are encouraged, within the framework of the national cross-border data security administration system, to provide cross-border business services to domestic and foreign users in accordance with law and regulations, so as to promote the application of electronic documents in international trade, transportation, and other fields.

Chapter III — Reliability and Security of Electronic Document Systems

Article 14 — Relevant institutions, organizations, and individuals are encouraged to engage in activities such as the issuance, storage, modification, conversion, transfer, pledge, and circulation of electronic documents through reliable electronic document systems.

A reliable electronic document system shall achieve the following functions:

(1) ensuring that electronic document information is traceable throughout the entire process and cannot be tampered with;

(2) being able to identify the issuer of the electronic document;

(3) where conversion between electronic documents and paper documents is supported, ensuring that the information before and after conversion is consistent and reflecting the relevant conversion information in the document.

A reliable electronic document system providing services for transferable electronic documents shall further achieve the following functions:

(1) being able to identify the electronic document and ensure its uniqueness;

(2) ensuring that the electronic document remains under exclusive control from its creation until it ceases to be effective, and being able to identify its controller;

(3) ensuring that control of the electronic document is transferred upon its transfer.

Article 15 — The reliability of an electronic document system means the capacity of the system to operate stably and continuously and to achieve the functions specified in Article 14 of these Provisions when providing services for the issuance, storage, modification, conversion, transfer, pledge, circulation, and other activities of electronic documents.

Factors for evaluating the reliability of an electronic document system include:

(1) the operating rules applicable to the system;

(2) the guarantee of the integrity of data stored in the system;

(3) the requirements of the system regarding the reliability of electronic signatures;

(4) the capacity to prevent unauthorized access to or use of the system;

(5) the security of the hardware and software used by the system;

(6) the stability of the system’s operation;

(7) the disaster recovery capacity of the system;

(8) whether the system is regularly audited by independent institutions, and the frequency and scope of such audits;

(9) certifications made by relevant institutions, organizations, and others regarding the reliability of the system;

(10) relevant technical standards;

(11) other relevant factors.

Article 16 — Operators and users of electronic document systems are encouraged to voluntarily use electronic identity verification service systems that conform to national standards, possess functions such as enterprise user identity verification and authentication, authorized operations, self-management, provision on demand, and security and reliability, and can effectively support the secure and reliable operation of electronic document systems, as well as identity authentication systems such as the national network identity authentication public service with natural person identity verification functions, so as to safeguard the security and convenience of trade in goods and transportation.

Reliability certification of electronic signatures in electronic documents shall be conducted in accordance with the Electronic Signature Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws, administrative regulations, and relevant state provisions.

Article 17 — Operators of electronic document systems are encouraged to apply to certification institutions established in accordance with law for system reliability certification, and to carry out the construction, operation, and maintenance of electronic document systems in a regulated manner.

Article 18 — Operators of electronic document systems shall strengthen risk management, improve business processes, support relevant parties in confirming electronic document information at the time of issuance, and reduce the risk that the cargo information recorded in electronic documents does not match the actual cargo information.

Article 19 — Operators of electronic document systems shall comply with the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws, administrative regulations, and relevant state provisions, use technologies and equipment that conform to relevant state security standards, implement the classified protection system for cybersecurity, and ensure the cybersecurity of electronic document systems and electronic documents.

Operators of electronic document systems shall establish and improve cybersecurity technical measures, continuously monitor the operating status of the system, and promptly handle abnormal situations. They shall formulate emergency response plans for cybersecurity incidents and, upon the occurrence of a cybersecurity incident, immediately initiate the emergency response plan, take corresponding remedial measures, and report to the relevant competent authorities in accordance with provisions.

Where an electronic document system constitutes critical information infrastructure, the operator of the electronic document system shall also perform the cybersecurity obligations that an operator of critical information infrastructure is required to undertake.

Article 20 — When processing electronic document data, operators of electronic document systems, relevant service support providers of electronic document systems, and users of electronic document systems shall comply with the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China, and other laws, administrative regulations, and relevant state provisions, implement data security protection responsibilities, establish and improve whole-process data security management systems, and, in accordance with the requirements of the data classification and grading protection system, strengthen the protection of electronic document data included in the national catalogue of important data, safeguard the data security of electronic document systems and electronic documents, and protect the personal information rights and interests of users of electronic document systems and relevant subjects.

The storage of electronic document data shall, according to the industry and type to which it belongs, conform to the relevant provisions of the competent authorities on data storage.

Article 21 — The provision of data related to electronic documents overseas shall conform to the relevant state provisions on data export. Where data related to electronic documents collected and generated in the course of international trade and cross-border transportation is provided overseas and meets one of the following conditions, it shall be exempt from applying for a security assessment of data export, concluding a standard contract for the export of personal information, or passing personal information protection certification:

(1) the data does not contain personal information or important data; or

(2) the personal information involved is necessary solely for the issuance, transfer, or pledge of electronic documents or the exercise of rights under electronic documents.

Chapter IV — Supervision, Inspection, and Legal Liability

Article 22 — The national cyberspace administration authority, together with the relevant competent state authorities, shall, in light of the types, technical characteristics, and industry characteristics of electronic documents and in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations, formulate corresponding classification and grading standards, norms, and management requirements, improve management methods, and encourage the application and innovative development of electronic documents.

Article 23 — The relevant competent state authorities shall, in accordance with their respective duties, supervise and inspect the construction and operation of electronic document systems and electronic document business, and operators of electronic document systems, relevant service support providers of electronic document systems, and relevant parties shall cooperate in accordance with law. When conducting supervision and inspection, the relevant authorities shall not impede the normal production and business activities of the objects being inspected.

Relevant institutions and personnel participating in supervision and inspection shall keep state secrets, trade secrets, personal privacy, and personal information learned in the performance of their duties confidential in accordance with law, and shall not disclose them or illegally provide them to others.

Article 24 — Where operators of electronic document systems, relevant service support providers of electronic document systems, or relevant parties violate these Provisions, the relevant competent authorities shall impose penalties in accordance with the Electronic Signature Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China, and other laws and administrative regulations; where no law or administrative regulation provides for the matter, the relevant competent authorities shall, in accordance with their duties, give a warning and order rectification within a prescribed time limit; where the offender refuses to make rectification or the circumstances are serious, the authorities shall order suspension of the provision of relevant services; and where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law.

Chapter V — Supplementary Provisions

Article 25 — For the purposes of these Provisions, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

(1) “electronic document” means a document in the form of a data message that is capable of proving the existence of legal relationships such as cargo transportation, cargo warehousing, and cargo insurance between parties, including but not limited to electronic bills of lading, electronic sea waybills, electronic railway waybills, electronic air waybills, electronic road waybills, electronic multimodal transport documents, and other electronic transport records, as well as electronic warehouse receipts and electronic cargo insurance policies. Electronic documents include transferable electronic documents and non-transferable electronic documents.

(2) “electronic document system” means an information system based on network information technology that provides technical services for the creation, receipt, storage, and transmission of electronic document information.

(3) “operator of an electronic document system” means an institution or organization responsible for the construction and operation of an electronic document system and providing the public with services such as the issuance, storage, modification, conversion, transfer, pledge, and circulation of electronic documents.

(4) “relevant service support provider of an electronic document system” means an institution or organization that provides support or services for the effective operation of an electronic document system.

(5) “user of an electronic document system” means an institution, organization, or individual that uses an electronic document system.

Article 26 — These Provisions shall come into force on September 1, 2026.