国家广播电影电视总局令第21号

（Promulgated¹ by the State Administration of Radio， Film and Television on 25 November 2003 and effective as of 1 January 2004.）

颁布日期：20031125 　实施日期：20040101 　颁布单位：国家广播电影电视总局

　　Article 1　These Provisions are formulated² in accordance with the PRC， Sino-foreign Equity³ Joint⁴ Venture Law， the PRC， Sino-Foreign Co-operative Joint Venture Law， the Administration of Films Regulations and the relevant laws and regulations in order to meet the needs of reform and opening up， absorb foreign capital， import advanced technology and equipment， and promote prosperous development of the film industry in China.

　　Article 2　These Provisions shall apply to foreign companies， enterprises and other economic organizations or individuals （Foreign Party to the Joint Venture） that， based on the principles of equality and mutual⁵ benefit and upon the approval of the Chinese government， establish with a company or enterprise in China （Chinese Party to the Joint Venture） a Sino-foreign equity or cooperative joint venture to build or renovate⁶ cinemas and to engage in the business of film screening.

　　Article 3　Foreign investors⁷ may not establish wholly foreign-owned cinemas or set up cinema chains.

　　Article 4　Foreign-invested cinemas shall fulfil the following criteria⁸：

　　1. they shall be in accord with the distribution and planning of local cultural facilities；

　　2. they shall have a registered capital of not less than Rmb 6 million；

　　3. they shall have a fixed⁹ place of business （for screening）；

　　4. in the case of Sino-foreign equity joint venture cinemas， the investment ratio of the Chinese Party to the Joint Venture in the registered capital may not be less than 51%； in the case of Sino-foreign equity joint venture cinemas in State experimental cities： Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou， Chengdu， Xi‘an， Wuhan and Nanjing， the investment ratio of the Foreign Party to the Joint Venture in the registered capital may not exceed 75% at maximum；

　　5. the term of equity and cooperative joint ventures may not exceed 30 years； and

　　6. they shall be in accord with the laws， regulations and the relevant provisions of China.

　　Article 5　If a Chinese Party to the Joint Venture invests with State-owned assets （other than cash investment）， it shall handle the relevant procedures according to the relevant provisions on the administration of State-owned assets.

　　Article 6　Establishment of foreign-invested cinemas shall be approved in accordance with the following procedure：

　　1. The Chinese Party to the Joint Venture shall apply to the commerce administrative¹⁰ department at the provincial¹¹ level of the place where it is located and submit the following materials：

　　（1） an application for the project of establishing a foreign-invested cinema；

　　（2） proof of the legal person status， materials related to land use rights for the cinema， and the bank proof of creditworthiness of the Chinese Party to the Joint Venture；

　　（3） proof of the qualifications， bank proof of creditworthiness， and documents in support of the financial status issued by an accounting¹² firm， of the Foreign Party to the Joint Venture；

　　（4） notice of the preliminary approval of the name of the foreign-invested cinema issued by the administration for industry and commerce；

　　（5） a feasibility study report， contract and the articles of association； and

　　（6） other materials required to be submitted by laws， regulations or the examination and approval authorities.

　　2. The commerce administrative department at the provincial level of the place where it is located shall， upon obtaining the consent of the film administrative department at the provincial level， carry out examination and approval in accordance with the relevant State laws and regulations on foreign investment， and shall report to the Ministry¹³ of Commerce， the State Administration of Radio， Film and Television， and the Ministry of Culture for record filing. An Approval Certificate for a Foreign-invested Enterprise shall be issued to foreign-invested enterprises that are established upon approval.

　　3. Foreign-invested cinemas established upon approval shall， within one month of the date of receipt of the Approval Certificate for a Foreign-invested Enterprise， carry out registration¹⁴ procedures with the administration for industry and commerce at the provincial level on the strength of the Approval Certificate for a Foreign-invested Enterprise.

　　4. After foreign-invested cinemas have completed construction or renovation¹⁵ work， they may engage in the business of film screening only after they have been inspected and accepted by the relevant departments and have obtained a Film Screening Business Permit from the film administrative department at the provincial level on the strength of the Approval Certificate for a Foreign-invested Enterprise and the Business Licence.

　　Article 7　Where there is a change in the equity or investment amount of a foreign-invested cinema that has already been established， it shall be handled in accordance with the procedure specified¹⁶ in Article 6 hereof.

　　Article 8　Foreign-invested cinemas must abide¹⁷ by the relevant State laws and regulations， operate in accordance with the Administration of Films Regulations， and accept the supervision¹⁸ and administration of the relevant Chinese government departments. The films screened must have a Permit for Public Screening of Films issued by the State Administration of Radio， Film and Television. They are not permitted to screen smuggled¹⁹ or pirated films nor engage in the screening of commercial videos， VCDs or DVDs.

　　Article 9　Foreign-invested cinemas that engage in other entertainment service business as affiliation²⁰ must comply with the relevant State regulations.

　　Article 10　Establishment of enterprises that engage in the business of film screening in the mainland by investors from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region， Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan shall， mutatis mutandis， be handled in accordance with these Provisions.

　　Article 11　These Provisions and their Annex²¹ shall be effective as of 1 January 2004. The Foreign Investment in Cinemas Tentative Provisions promulgated on 25 October 2000 by the State Administration of Radio， Film and Television， the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Culture shall be simultaneously²² repealed²³.

　　Annex：

　　The following special provisions on the issues relevant to investment in cinemas by Hong Kong and Macao service providers in the Foreign Investment in Cinemas Tentative Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Mainland/Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership²⁴ Agreement and the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Agreement approved by the State Council， in order to promote the establishment of closer economic partnership between Hong Kong， Macao and the mainland， and to encourage Hong Kong and Macao service providers to establish enterprises that engage in the business of film screening in the mainland：

　　1. Starting from 1 January 2004， Hong Kong and Macao service providers are permitted to construct， renovate and operate cinemas in the form of equity or cooperative joint venture. Hong Kong and Macao service providers are permitted to hold a majority equity interest， but it may not exceed 75%.

　　2. Other provisions on investment in cinemas by Hong Kong and Macao service providers in the mainland shall still be implemented²⁵ according to the Foreign Investment in Cinemas Tentative Provisions.