JC Master Legal News Issue 1153

Key Takeaways for This Issue

The State Administration for Market Regulation has launched a nationwide unified platform for market regulation credit restoration.
On March 25, the State Administration for Market Regulation officially launched the nationwide unified platform for market regulation credit repair, helping business entities carry out credit restoration efficiently and conveniently.
Revision of the Regulations on Ensuring Payment to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Stricter Penalties for Violations
On March 24, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council signed a State Council decree promulgating the revised Regulations on Ensuring Payment of Funds Owed to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, which will take effect on June 1, 2025.
The State Taxation Administration has announced a new batch of abolished and amended tax departmental regulations and normative documents.
On March 26, the website of the State Taxation Administration publicly released the “Decision of the State Taxation Administration on the Publication of the Catalogue of Partial Tax Department Regulations and Normative Documents That Have Been Abolished or Amended” (Order No. 59 of the State Taxation Administration).
The Jiangsu High People’s Court has released five typical cases of judicial protection of trade secrets.
On March 24, the Jiangsu High People’s Court released a list of typical cases on judicial protection of trade secrets by Jiangsu courts (2020–2024).

Finance & Capital Markets
The Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges have revised the Measures for Evaluating the Professional Quality of Sponsor Institutions, introducing a new indicator: “Adjustment for Performance Decline.”
The Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange have jointly issued the “Measures for the Implementation of Practicing Quality Evaluation of Sponsor Institutions Oriented Toward Listed Company Quality (Trial) (Revised in 2025),” which shall take effect as of March 21, 2025.
This revision aims to implement policy documents issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, including the “Opinions on Strictly Regulating Entry into the Issuance and Listing Process to Enhance the Quality of Listed Companies at the Source (Trial),” among others. The revised measures maintain the same overall structure as the version released in 2023, with the amendments primarily covering four key areas:
First, a new sub‑indicator, “Performance Decline Adjustment,” has been added to the “Growth Capability” metric. This sub‑indicator is a penalty‑point item: if a listed company’s operating revenue or its non‑recurring‑item‑adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders declines by more than 50% year over year, the company will lose 5 points in the annual Listed Company Quality score. Second, the scoring methodology for certain indicators has been revised. First, the “Cash Dividend Payout Ratio” indicator now assigns scores based on the company’s ranking within its peer group, thereby enhancing the differentiation of scores. Second, market‑capitalization‑related indicators—including “Total Market Capitalization,” “Price‑to‑Book Ratio,” and “Annualized Return on Equity”—are now calculated using the average closing price of the stock over the first 20 trading days of the year or at year‑end. Third, the criteria for assigning an A‑level rating have been refined. Fourth, the application of evaluation results has been further improved.

Commercial & Corporate
Three departments have issued the Implementation Plan for the Digital Transformation of the Light Industry.
According to a March 27 announcement on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the ministry, together with two other departments, has jointly issued the “Implementation Plan for the Digital Transformation of the Light Industry,” which sets forth that by 2027, the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools among key light-industry enterprises will reach approximately 90%, and around 60 benchmark enterprises will be cultivated.
The Plan outlines four key tasks: launching initiatives to empower industries with next-generation information technologies, fostering innovative applications of new models and business formats, promoting high-quality industrial development, and strengthening foundational support. Among these, the initiative on high-quality industrial development calls for accelerating intelligent upgrades. It encourages the light industry sector to conduct assessments and diagnostics—such as smart manufacturing capability maturity evaluations and digitalization level assessments for small and medium-sized enterprises—and to implement phased digital and intelligent transformations. Furthermore, it seeks to help SMEs in sectors like hardware products, plastic goods, cultural and sports supplies, and eyewear adopt lean management practices and leverage sensors, industrial control systems, and other technologies to carry out “micro‑upgrades” that digitize critical processes and manufacturing units, thereby building digital production lines. Finally, the Plan supports enterprises in industries such as home appliances, furniture, leather goods, papermaking, and daily chemical products—those with a strong digital foundation—to undertake integrated upgrades of smart equipment and industrial systems, cultivating a cohort of digital workshops, smart factories, and 5G‑enabled factories.

The State Council has unveiled a 13-point plan to promote job creation and support employment among key groups.
On March 27, the State Council Leading Group for Employment Promotion and Labor Protection issued the “Implementation Plan for Intensifying Efforts to Tap and Expand Job Opportunities in Key Areas, Key Industries, Grassroots Communities in Both Urban and Rural Areas, and Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises, and for Supporting Employment and Entrepreneurship Among Priority Groups.”
The plan proposes advancing job creation across seven key areas, including unlocking employment potential in emerging industries such as advanced manufacturing, expanding employment opportunities through major infrastructure projects, and enhancing the attractiveness of private enterprises and small, medium, and micro‑enterprises to workers. In addition, the plan strengthens support for priority groups on six fronts—reducing burdens and stabilizing employment, encouraging businesses to hire, and safeguarding workers’ legitimate rights and interests. It also calls for bolstering financial support for labor‑intensive enterprises that maintain or reduce layoffs to promote stable employment, exploring the inclusion of eligible social organizations within the scope of one‑off recruitment‑expansion subsidies, appropriately adjusting minimum wage levels, cracking down on illegal practices such as employment discrimination, unlicensed employment agencies, and recruitment fraud, standardizing the use of labor dispatch, and addressing irregularities like “fake outsourcing, real dispatch,” among other measures, with the aim of improving employment quality and ensuring a stable labor market.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has deployed related work on the “Enterprise Innovation Scoring System” service platform.
On March 27, the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the “Notice on Carrying Out Relevant Work Related to the ‘Enterprise Innovation Points System’ Service Platform.”
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has decided to fully open the “Enterprise Innovation Scoring System” service platform. The platform aims to support enterprises’ innovation and development through data-driven, quantitative evaluation. By integrating data from the Torch Center’s business systems, it enables users to access their innovation scores without requiring high-tech enterprises or companies within national high-tech zones that are subject to statistical reporting to submit additional information.

The Shanghai Financial Regulatory Bureau has issued a document to facilitate financing and support the private sector.
On March 26, the website of the Shanghai Financial Regulatory Bureau published the “Notice on Deepening the Financing Facilitation Project to Support the High-Quality Development of the Private Economy.”
The Notice outlines 20 measures across six key areas—increasing credit support, maintaining a problem‑oriented approach, prioritizing service delivery, advancing opening-up, strengthening policy provision, and reinforcing regulatory guidance. It sets targets to push the outstanding balance of inclusive small and micro‑enterprise loans beyond RMB 1.5 trillion by 2025; to implement the First‑Time Borrower Program and seamless loan renewal initiatives, with an additional target of 20,000 new first‑time borrowers and over RMB 1 trillion in renewed loans; to support science‑and‑technology finance demonstration zones and intellectual‑property‑pledge lending, aiming for RMB 1.5 trillion in loans to technology offices; to optimize green financial services, targeting RMB 1.8 trillion in outstanding green credit; to refine foreign‑trade‑related financial products and facilitate the shift from export‑to‑domestic sales; and to raise the tolerance for non‑performing loans, while improving due‑diligence exemption mechanisms and incentive schemes for small and micro‑loans, among other measures.

The State Council has endorsed Shanghai and four other cities in their efforts to build international consumption center cities.
According to a March 26 announcement on the Chinese Government Website, the General Office of the State Council has forwarded the “Several Measures for Supporting the Cultivation and Development of International Consumption Center Cities,” issued by the Ministry of Commerce, to accelerate the development of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing into international consumption centers.
The Measures set out eight key areas of focus, including the proactive promotion of the “first-launch economy.” They call for supporting relevant cities in developing distinctive first‑launch event brands, encouraging both domestic and international premium brands to host inaugural product launches, debut shows, and exhibition premieres, establishing a number of global hubs for new‑product debuts, and attracting top-tier global brands to open their first stores and set up R&D and design centers as well as regional headquarters.
The Measures call for better leveraging the roles of duty-free shops and the departure‑tax‑refund policy. They stipulate the implementation of the in‑city duty‑free shop policy, urging approved in‑city duty‑free stores to complete construction and commence operations as soon as possible; strengthen publicity for the departure‑tax‑refund scheme, optimize the layout of refund‑eligible stores, and develop a number of signature tax‑refund districts; and streamline the refund‑processing procedures while promoting the “buy‑and‑refund‑immediately” initiative.

The 2025 edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China has been officially promulgated.
The 2025 Edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China was reviewed and approved at the plenary meeting of the Executive Committee of the 12th Pharmacopoeia Commission, promulgated on March 25, and will come into force on October 1, 2025. Concurrently, the National Medical Products Administration issued the “Announcement on Matters Relating to the Implementation of the 2025 Edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China.”
The Chinese Pharmacopoeia is an essential component of the national pharmaceutical standards and a legally mandated technical standard that all relevant entities— including those involved in drug development, manufacturing (including imports), distribution, use, and regulatory oversight—must adhere to. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia comprises general provisions, monographs for individual substances, general technical requirements, and guiding principles. Effective from the date of its implementation, all marketing authorization holders and manufacturers of marketed drugs shall comply with the requirements set forth in this announcement and in the current edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. From the date of implementation, any substance previously listed in earlier editions of the Pharmacopoeia or in bureau‑ or department‑issued standards, which is now included in the current edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, shall have its corresponding earlier edition of the Pharmacopoeia or bureau/department standard simultaneously repealed. For substances not yet included in the current edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, the applicable earlier edition of the Pharmacopoeia or bureau/department standard shall remain in force, provided that such substances continue to meet the relevant general technical requirements of the current edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has issued a document to further strengthen financial support for enterprises in stabilizing and expanding employment.
On March 24, the website of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security published the “Notice on Further Strengthening Financial Support to Help Enterprises Stabilize and Expand Employment.”
The key provisions of the notice include: lowering the eligibility threshold for small and micro enterprises seeking loans to stabilize and expand employment; expanding eligibility to include individual business owners and self-employed individuals; and allowing eligible enterprises and individuals to apply for higher loan amounts, with maximum limits of RMB 50 million and RMB 10 million, respectively. In addition, loan interest rates will be further reduced to a cap of no more than 4%. The notice also encourages innovative service models, promoting a combined approach of “entrepreneurship guarantee loans plus special-purpose loans for stabilizing and expanding employment” to enhance the convenience of accessing such financing.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has extended the deadline for the reform of the management model of enterprise measurement standards and measuring instruments in pilot cities for business environment innovation.
On March 24, the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation published the “Notice on Deepening the Reform of the Management Model for Maximum Measuring Standards Used Internally by Enterprises in Pilot Cities for Business Environment Innovation.”
The notice clarifies that, in six pilot cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen—the requirements for assessing and certifying, as well as the mandatory verification of, maximum‑accuracy measuring standards used internally by enterprises will continue to be waived, provided that metrological traceability requirements are met. Enterprises are required to manage their own measuring standards independently, ensuring the accuracy of measurement values, establishing a self‑declaration system, and subjecting themselves to regulatory oversight. The pilot period for this reform has been extended until October 22, 2027.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has launched a nationwide unified platform for market regulation credit restoration.
On March 25, the State Administration for Market Regulation officially launched the nationwide unified platform for market regulation credit repair, helping business entities carry out credit restoration efficiently and conveniently.
The unified platform has achieved “a single access point and cross‑jurisdictional remediation,” providing business entities with services to query information on administrative penalties, the list of businesses with abnormal operations, and the list of seriously law‑violating and untrustworthy entities, as well as credit‑remediation assistance. Users can obtain such information with a single click and submit a credit‑remediation application to the market regulation authorities in one step. In addition, the platform has further streamlined procedures, reduced the required documentation, and standardized document formats, thereby enhancing efficiency and saving time and costs. For unlawful and untrustworthy information publicly disclosed by other departments, the platform will display a credit‑remediation prompt, guiding business entities to the appropriate channels for seeking remediation.

Beijing has issued the 2025 “Key Work Points for Comprehensively Optimizing the Business Environment and Building a World-Class ‘Beijing Service’”
On March 25, the Beijing Municipal Government website published the “Notice on Issuing the Key Work Points for Comprehensively Optimizing the Business Environment and Building a World-Class ‘Beijing Service’ (2025).”
The “Key Work Plan” comprises 46 items across six areas, proposing to refine the mechanisms for translating scientific and technological achievements into practical applications and to study and formulate a set of measures to promote such成果转化 in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. It calls for improving the “supply-and-demand list‑based” mechanism for matching technology‑transfer opportunities, compiling no fewer than 300 technical needs from enterprises in Tianjin and Hebei, and making available at least 400 scientific and technological成果 from this city. The plan also seeks to facilitate the optimization of market access conditions in emerging sectors and fields such as life sciences and health, artificial intelligence, and commercial aerospace. Furthermore, it aims to develop and issue local standards for registration and filing services for partnerships and individual industrial and commercial households, and to establish a preventive protection mechanism for enterprise names, strengthening safeguards for time-honored brands and other well‑known commercial identifiers.

Revision of the Regulations on Ensuring Payment to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Stricter Penalties for Violations
According to a March 24 announcement on the Chinese government website, Premier Li Qiang signed a State Council decree promulgating the revised Regulations on Ensuring Payment of Accounts Owed to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, which will take effect on June 1, 2025.
The Regulations comprise five chapters and 37 articles, with revisions focusing on four key areas: First, clarifying responsibilities by stipulating that the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government bear overall responsibility for ensuring timely payment to small and medium-sized enterprises within their respective administrative jurisdictions. Second, strengthening payment obligations by setting specific deadlines for government agencies, public institutions, and large enterprises to pay SMEs, and introducing provisions requiring large enterprises to make payments within 60 days of delivery of goods, completion of projects, or provision of services. Third, improving oversight, supervision, and complaint-handling mechanisms, providing that, in cases of serious arrears to SMEs or when such arrears give rise to severe adverse social impacts, large enterprises may be subject to lawful and regulatory restrictions in areas such as financial support and approval of investment projects. Fourth, increasing penalties for violations: supplementary measures have been introduced to clarify legal liabilities for adverse consequences or negative impacts resulting from payment arrears by state-owned large enterprises, as well as for retaliatory actions, abuse of power, dereliction of duty, and other unlawful conduct by government agencies, public institutions, large enterprises, and their employees.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has outlined the key legislative tasks for 2025.
Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation has laid out plans for its key legislative tasks for 2025.
The key legislative tasks include: formulating the Measures for the Administration of Registration Files of Business Entities, the Measures for the Administration of Credit Restoration in Market Supervision, and the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Rules on Online Trading Platforms; revising the Regulations Prohibiting Pyramid Schemes and the Implementing Measures for the Fair Competition Review Regulations; and advancing the revision of laws and regulations such as the Food Safety Law, the Product Quality Law, and the Medical Device Administration Law.

Taxation
Regulation has been further strengthened! The State Taxation Administration has issued the Measures for the Administration of Tax‑Related Product Testing for Refined Petroleum Products.
According to a March 27 announcement on the website of the State Taxation Administration, the agency has issued the Interim Measures for the Management of Tax-Related Product Testing of Refined Petroleum Products, which will take effect on March 24, 2025.
The Measures comprise seven chapters and sixty articles, covering general provisions, initiation, sampling, testing, retesting, and handling, and provide clear guidance on issues such as the testing entities, scope of testing, testing procedures, and the application of test results. The Measures stipulate that tax‑related product testing for refined petroleum products shall be organized and implemented by the tax authorities; with the consent of relevant departments including development and reform, finance, and market regulation, joint operations may also be conducted. With respect to the entities subject to testing, such inspections cover not only refined petroleum producers but also distributors, storage facilities, and users of tax‑related refined petroleum products. When necessary, the tax authorities may concurrently inspect the enterprises’ production equipment and process flows. The results of tax‑related product testing shall serve as the basis for the tax authorities in determining the levy of consumption tax on refined petroleum products.

The preferential stamp duty policy for offshore trade has been expanded and extended.
According to a March 27 announcement on the Ministry of Finance’s website, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration recently issued the “Notice on Continuing to Implement the Preferential Stamp Duty Policy for Offshore Trade,” which will be in effect from April 1, 2025, through December 31, 2027.
The Notice clarifies that stamp duty shall be exempted on sales contracts executed by enterprises engaged in offshore resale transactions registered in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Lingang New Area, the Suzhou Area of the China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Xiamen Area of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Qingdao Area of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, as well as the Hainan Free Trade Port. Offshore resale refers to a transaction in which a resident enterprise purchases goods from a non-resident enterprise and subsequently resells those goods to another non-resident enterprise, with the goods never actually entering or leaving China’s customs territory.

Ministry of Commerce: Targeted policies and measures for outbound tax refunds will be introduced to enhance refund services.
On March 25, the Ministry of Commerce held a special press conference on consumption, stating that, in accordance with the requirements of the “Notice from the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the Special Action Plan for Boosting Consumption,” the Ministry will carry out work in four key areas to expand consumer spending.
First, upgrade consumer spending on goods. Launch pilot programs to reform automobile circulation and consumption, and expand the automotive aftermarket.
Second, we will expand service consumption. Focusing on key service‑consumption sectors that are closely tied to people’s daily lives, boast significant growth potential, and exert strong spillover effects—such as catering, domestic services, elderly care, cultural and tourism, and sports—we will launch initiatives to enhance the quality of service consumption and deliver tangible benefits to the public.
Third, we will foster new forms of consumption. We will actively promote the “first-launch economy” and cultivate a number of influential platforms and venues for product launches; develop digital consumption; nurture the “AI + consumption” model; and advance the integration of “IP + consumption.”
Fourth, we will innovate consumption scenarios and enhance the effectiveness of the outbound tax‑refund policy. The Ministry of Commerce, in coordination with relevant departments, will introduce targeted policies and measures to increase the number of tax‑refund stores, streamline refund procedures, make shopping in China more convenient for international travelers, and boost inbound consumption.

The State Taxation Administration has announced a new batch of abolished and amended tax departmental regulations and normative documents.
On March 26, the website of the State Taxation Administration publicly released the “Decision of the State Taxation Administration on the Publication of the Catalogue of Partial Tax Department Regulations and Normative Documents That Have Been Abolished or Amended” (Order No. 59 of the State Taxation Administration).
The State Taxation Administration has decided that, effective March 24, 2025:
Three regulations of the tax authorities are hereby repealed.
Sixty-eight tax normative documents have been repealed.
Certain provisions of 19 tax normative documents have been repealed and amended.

LITIGATION & ARBITRATION
The Supreme People’s Court has issued a document clarifying the procedures applicable to civil cases involving foreign state immunity.
On March 26, the Supreme People’s Court issued the “Notice on Procedural Matters Relating to Civil Cases Involving Foreign State Immunity.”
The Notice comprises eight articles, setting forth procedural rules governing the acceptance of civil cases involving foreign state immunity, centralized jurisdiction, service of process, review of jurisdictional immunity, and the procurement of certification documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Notice clarifies that foreign states and their property enjoy jurisdictional immunity before Chinese courts, unless otherwise provided by the Law on the Immunity of Foreign States. Cases involving foreign state immunity shall be under the jurisdiction of the intermediate people’s courts located in the seats of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, which have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial matters. When serving judicial documents on a foreign state, courts shall comply with the provisions of international treaties. A foreign state may raise an objection to jurisdiction within the period for filing a defense. This Notice applies to situations where a foreign state is added as a party to the proceedings.

The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has released 10 typical cases of public interest litigation, focusing on issues related to agriculture, rural areas, and farmers.
On March 27, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate released a batch of typical public interest litigation cases centered on supporting rural revitalization, covering such areas as farmland protection, the preservation of rural cultural heritage, and environmental improvement.
The cases released this time cover a range of areas, including farmland protection, the inheritance of rural agricultural cultural heritage, improvement of the rural living environment, workplace safety in rural areas, and the protection of the rights and interests of vulnerable groups. Among these cases, three address farmland protection: for instance, the People’s Procuratorate of Tanghe County, Henan Province, tackled illegal activities involving the unauthorized use of basic farmland and cultivated land for livestock and poultry farming. By initiating legal proceedings, it clarified the responsible regulatory authorities, ultimately facilitating the restoration of basic farmland to cultivation and the completion of registration procedures for agricultural facility land use, thereby safeguarding the red line for farmland protection.

The Jiangsu High People’s Court has released five typical cases of judicial protection of trade secrets.
On March 24, the Jiangsu High People’s Court released a list of typical cases on judicial protection of trade secrets by Jiangsu courts (2020–2024).
Notably, Case No. 1 represents the first instance nationwide in which unpublished game characters, settings, and other related information were recognized as trade secrets. In recent years, pre‑release “spoilers” have become increasingly prevalent, emerging as a persistent problem in the gaming industry that has severely dampened creators’ enthusiasm and undermined the sector’s healthy development. Relying on factors such as the distinctive creative elements embodied in the game’s test‑version content, the rights holder’s established practice of regularly updating versions to cultivate a unique business model, and the fact that game characters and settings constitute the rights holder’s core assets, the court ruled to protect the undisclosed test‑version materials as trade secrets, thereby providing valuable guidance for the adjudication of similar cases.

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