(Promulgated by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on 12 January 1998 and effective as of 1 January 1998.)
颁布日期：19971211 　实施日期：19980101 　颁布单位：国家外汇管理局

　　Article 1　These Provisions are formulated¹ in accordance with the Foreign Exchange Control Regulations and the Administration of the Settlement, Sale and Payment of Foreign Exchange Provisions, in order to improve the administration of foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China of organizations inside the People's Republic of China.

　　Article 2　The administration of the opening, use and closing of foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China by organizations inside the People's Republic of China shall be governed by these Provisions.

　　Article 3　The State Administration of Foreign Exchange and its branches (the "Administration of Foreign Exchange") shall be the authority for the administration of foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China.

　　Article 4　Organizations inside the People's Republic of China that fulfil the following conditions may open foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China:

　　1. obtain recurrent occasional revenue outside the People's Republic of China, need to open a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China and repatriate² the revenue after centrally sorting out the same;

　　2. have recurrent occasional expenditures³ outside the People's Republic of China and need to open a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China;

　　3. are engaged in project contracting outside the People's Republic of China and need to open a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China;

　　4. issue negotiable securities denominated in foreign currency outside the People's Republic of China and need to open a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China;

　　5. need to open a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China due to special, business-related requirements.

　　Article 5　Organizations inside the People's Republic of China that wish to open a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China shall apply to the Administration of Foreign Exchange by presenting the following documents and materials:

　　1. a written application which has been signed by the legal representative of the organization inside the People's Republic of China or a person authorized⁴ thereby⁵ and to which the official seal of the organization has been affixed⁶. The application shall include such particulars as the reason for opening of the account; the currency; the maximum amount, purpose, scope of receipts and payments and term of use of the account; the bank with which the account is to be opened and such bank's location; etc.;

　　2. the original and a photocopy⁷ of the business licence issued by the administration authority for industry and commerce;

　　3. its internal regulations for administration of the use of accounts outside the People's Republic of China; and

　　4. other documents and materials which the Administration of Foreign Exchange requires to be provided.

　　Organizations inside the People's Republic of China which are engaged in the business of project contracting outside the People's Republic of China shall, in addition to providing the documents and materials mentioned above, provide the relevant project contracts. Foreign investment enterprises that wish to open foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China shall, in addition to providing the documents and materials mentioned above, provide the Foreign Exchange Registration⁸ Certificate of a Foreign Investment Enterprise and an investment certificate issued by a registered accounting⁹ firm stating that all monetary¹⁰ registered capital has been paid in.

　　Article 6　The Administration of Foreign Exchange shall reply within 30 working days after it has received the documents and materials set forth¹¹ in the preceding Article.

　　Article 7　Organizations inside the People's Republic of China may open foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China only upon approval by the Administration of Foreign Exchange.

　　Article 8　Organizations inside the People's Republic of China shall open their foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China in their own names. Without approval from the Administration of Foreign Exchange, they may not open foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China in the names of individuals or other legal persons.

　　Article 9　When opening foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China, organizations inside the People's Republic of China shall select a bank of relatively¹² good credit standing¹³ of the country or region in which its main foreign exchange payments and receipts occur.

　　Article 10　Within 30 days after opening a foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China, organizations inside the People's Republic of China shall report information such as the name of the bank with which the foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China has been opened, the account number, the name of the account holder¹⁴, etc. to the Administration of Foreign Exchange for the record.

　　Article 11　When an organization inside the People's Republic of China handles a payment of funds into or out of its foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China, it shall abide¹⁵ by the regulations of the country or region in which the account has been opened and take practical and effective measures to control the safety of the funds in such account.

　　Article 12　Organizations inside the People's Republic of China shall use their foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China in accordance with the scope of receipts and payments into and out of the account, the maximum amount of the account and the term of use of the account approved by the Administration of Foreign Exchange. They may not lease out or lend their foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China or share such accounts with others.

　　Article 13　If an organization inside the People's Republic of China wishes to change the bank with which it has opened a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China or wishes to change particulars such as the scope of receipts and payments, maximum amount or term of use of such account, it shall apply in advance to the Administration of Foreign Exchange and may make the change only after it has obtained approval.

　　Article 14　30 working days prior to the expiration¹⁶ of the term of use of its foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China, an organization inside the People's Republic of China shall submit the account cancellation¹⁷ notice from the bank with which it opened such account to the Administration of Foreign Exchange for the record, repatriate the balance and provide an account list. If it needs to extend the term for use of the account, it shall apply in writing to the Administration of Foreign Exchange 30 working days prior to the expiration of the term, and may continue using the account only after the Administration of Foreign Exchange has approved the application.

　　Article 15　Organizations inside the People's Republic of China shall keep complete accounts of their foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China. Within 15 working days of the beginning of each quarter, organizations inside the People's Republic of China shall provide the Administration of Foreign Exchange with photocopies¹⁸ of the quarterly account statements from the banks with which they have opened their accounts. Prior to

　　30 January of each year, the said organizations shall provide the Administration of Foreign Exchange with written information concerning their use of funds during the preceding year.

　　Article 16　If an organization inside the People's Republic of China carries out any of the following acts, the Administration of Foreign Exchange shall order rectification¹⁹, cancel the foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China, circulate a notice of criticism and impose a fine of not less than Rmb 50,000 and not more than Rmb 300,000:

　　1. violates Article 7 or 14 hereof by opening a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China, or by extending the term of use of such account, without approval;

　　2. violates Article 8 hereof by opening a foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China in the name of another person, without approval;

　　3. violates Article 12 or 13 hereof by leasing out or lending its foreign exchange account outside the People's Republic of China or sharing such account with others, or by changing without approval the bank with which it has opened such account or the scope of receipts and payments or term of use of such account;

　　4. violates Article 5, 10, 13, 14 or 15 hereof by providing false documents, materials or information;

　　5. violates Article 10, 14 or 15 hereof by failing to provide documents and information to the Administration of Foreign Exchange; or

　　6. otherwise acts in violation²⁰ of these Provisions.

　　Article 17　These Provisions do not apply to the opening of foreign exchange accounts outside the People's Republic of China by financial institutions.

　　Article 18　The State Administration of Foreign Exchange shall be in charge of interpreting these Provisions.

　　Article 19　These Provisions shall be implemented²¹ as of 1 January 1998. The Administration of Foreign Investment Enterprises' Foreign Exchange Accounts Outside China Provisions issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on 7 January 1989 shall be repealed²² at the same date.