ISSUING AUTHORITIES and EFFECTIVE DATES:

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Guangdong Branch, May 15, 2025

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Zhejiang Branch, May 11, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Beijing Branch, April 23, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Hubei Branch, June 1, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Jiangxi Branch, July 15, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Liaoning Branch, August 19, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Shandong Branch, July 1, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Tianjin Branch, August 1, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Gansu Branch, August 1, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Chongqing Branch, March 20, 2026

State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Henan Branch, March 26, 2026

Recently, to facilitate cross-border trade and improve the quality of foreign exchange services for the real economy, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) decided to further expand the scope and improve the quality of the Cross-Border Trade High-Level Opening-Up Pilot. Sub-bureaus in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hubei, Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jiangxi and Gansu have issued detailed official implementation rules in quick succession, while Chongqing and Henan have released drafts for public consultation. The core rules are highly unified with localized adjustments for specific regions, marking the official entry of the pilot into a national standardized promotion phase and creating a stable and transparent facilitation environment for foreign trade enterprises.

All regional rules clarify that prudent and compliant banks must be first-tier branches of banks or head offices of local banks within their jurisdictions, with sound internal control systems, full-time foreign exchange compliance positions, and qualified foreign exchange compliance ratings over the past three years. The access criteria for Qualified Enterprises are consistent nationwide: enterprises must operate in compliance without penalties, be classified as Class A in the Trade in Goods Directory, and ensure traceable transactions. Meanwhile, five categories of enterprises are exempted from the business duration requirement. Hubei, Liaoning, and Gansu provinces restrict the pilot to specific cities within their jurisdictions, while other provinces apply the pilot province-wide.

The facilitation businesses are identical across provinces, covering eight core items: facilitation of current account receipts and payments, optimization of new-type international trade settlement, netting settlement of trade receipts and payments, exemption from prior registration for overdue special foreign exchange refunds, optimization of advance payment and allocation in service trade, facilitation of foreign exchange use for expatriate employees' salaries, simplification of fund settlement for multinational corporations, and other businesses permitted by SAFE. These measures comprehensively reduce enterprises’ cross-border compliance costs and improve capital turnover efficiency.

Reporting requirements are strictly unified nationwide: facilitation businesses must be labeled "High-Level Facilitation Pilot"; netting settlement, salary foreign exchange use, special refunds, advance payment and allocation businesses shall be marked with exclusive remarks or annotations as required, with clear data submission time limits and coding standards, ensuring cross-border payment and receipt data is authentic, traceable and verifiable for supervision.

Bank management and regulatory requirements are consistent nationwide, featuring prior filing and change notification systems with approval completed within 20 working days; a dynamic management mechanism for Qualified Enterprises to promptly remove non-compliant enterprises; strengthened risk prevention and control, including suspension of the bank’s ability to add new Qualified Enterprises in cases of bank rating downgrades, illegal arbitrage or non-cooperation with supervision, with restoration only after rectification meets standards, thus building a solid security line of defense for cross-border capital flows.

The coordinated rollout of detailed rules across multiple provinces is a key initiative for deepening high-level opening-up in the foreign exchange sector and serving the real economy. It will continue to empower stable foreign trade growth and facilitate the high-quality development of the foreign-related economy.

Reference:

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