Published by ChinaMNC · Baiyu

Accessing Sichuan Provincial Government Information: A Practical Guide for Foreign Founders

A practical overview of how foreign founders can obtain government information from the Sichuan Provincial People's Government and its General Office, including proactive disclosure, application procedures, timelines, and fees.

Why Government Information Access Matters for Foreign Founders

Foreign founders setting up or running a company in Sichuan may need official government information to understand regulations, approvals, and policies affecting their business. The Sichuan Provincial People's Government and its General Office publish a guide explaining how citizens, legal persons, and other organizations can access government information. The guide is issued under the Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Disclosure of Government Information (State Council Order No. 711, referred to as the Regulation).

The stated purpose is to improve government information services, protect lawful access to information, increase transparency, support a rule-of-law government, and help government information serve production, daily life, and economic and social activities.

Information Disclosed Proactively

Under the principles of fairness, impartiality, legality, and convenience, the government proactively discloses information that affects public interests, that the public needs to know broadly, or that requires public participation in decision-making. It also discloses other information required by laws, regulations, rules, and national provisions. The scope of proactive disclosure is increased over time in line with higher-level administrative arrangements.

Main Categories of Proactive Disclosure

The guide lists the following categories of information disclosed proactively under Articles 19 and 20 of the Regulation:

• Leadership and structure: Provincial government leaders and their division of responsibilities, the setup of provincial government working bodies, main duties, and the provincial government's working rules.
• Rules and normative documents: Provincial government rules and normative documents issued by the provincial government and its General Office.
• Work reports and meetings: Provincial government work reports, important provincial government meetings, and information on provincial leaders' attendance at important official activities.
• Planning and statistics: Sichuan's national economic and social development plans, special plans, regional plans and related policies, and national economic and social development statistics.
• Administrative matters: Administrative licensing, administrative penalties, administrative coercion, and other external management and service matters.
• Finance and procurement: Fiscal budgets and final accounts, government centralized procurement, and administrative and institutional fee information.
• Major construction projects: Approval and implementation status of major construction projects.
• Major livelihood matters: Policies, measures, and implementation related to poverty alleviation, education, medical care, social security, and employment promotion; emergency response plans, early warning information, and response situations for public emergencies; and supervision and inspection of environmental protection, public health, work safety, food and drug safety, and product quality.
• Personnel matters: Provincial government personnel appointments and removals, and civil service recruitment information.
• Other information: Other government information that laws, regulations, rules, and national provisions require to be disclosed proactively.

Where Information Is Published

Proactively disclosed information is made available through several channels:

• The Sichuan Provincial People's Government Gazette.
• The Sichuan Provincial People's Government portal website.
• Official social media and news accounts, including the "Sichuan Release" Sina Weibo account, the "Sichuan Release" WeChat public account, and the "Sichuan Provincial People's Government Website" Toutiao account.
• Provincial government press conferences.
• Other channels such as radio, television, and newspapers.

Information is also made public through the Sichuan Provincial Government Government Services and Public Resources Trading Service Center, the Sichuan Provincial Archives, and the Sichuan Provincial Library. These locations also serve as venues for accepting and consulting government information.

Timing of Proactive Disclosure

Information within the scope of proactive disclosure is published within 20 working days from the date it is formed or changed. Where laws or regulations provide otherwise, those provisions apply.

Requesting Information That Is Not Proactively Disclosed

Beyond proactively disclosed information, citizens, legal persons, and other organizations (applicants) may apply to the Sichuan Provincial People's Government and its General Office for relevant government information.

Identify the Correct Agency First

To obtain information accurately and quickly, applicants should first determine which agency they need to approach. Applicants can visit the Sichuan Provincial People's Government portal website and use the "Institutional Functions" section to learn about the main duties and organizational setup of provincial administrative agencies. They should then submit an application to the appropriate agency through the channels that agency has opened, following its specific usage instructions.

The guide gives examples of which agency to approach for certain types of information:

• For project approval information and feasibility study reports for major construction projects, apply to the development and reform department.
• For information related to collective land expropriation, apply to the natural resources department.
• For information on expropriation and compensation of housing on state-owned land and shantytown renovation, apply to the city or county-level government where the applicant is located and its housing and urban-rural development department.

Who Handles Applications

Under Articles 3, 10, 27, and 28 of the Regulation, the General Office of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government accepts applications for government information made to the provincial government and the General Office. The Provincial Government Information Disclosure Office specifically handles government information disclosure matters for the agency.

The General Office accepts applications submitted in person, by letter, and online, and processes them according to the application procedure.

• In person: The agency has an application acceptance point at the Provincial Government Services Center. Applicants can collect the Government Information Disclosure Application Form (the Application Form) on site, complete it, and submit it in person.
• Online: Applicants register a user account as prompted on the Sichuan Government Services Network. After logging in successfully, they can apply online, select the application type, enter application information such as name and identification number, and check application progress.

Practical Tips Before Applying

• Processing and replying to an application takes time. To obtain information promptly, applicants should first search the proactive disclosure channels described above. If the information cannot be found there, they can then submit an application.
• Matters involving petitions, complaints, reports, consultations, or suggestions should be submitted through dedicated channels such as the Governor's Mailbox, the 12345 online message service, and disciplinary inspection reporting channels.
• The Application Form can be collected at the acceptance point or downloaded from the Sichuan Provincial People's Government portal website. Photocopies of the form are valid. For online applications, the form can be completed online.
• For in-person applications, applicants must present valid identification. For applications by letter, a copy of valid identification must be attached to the form. For online applications, applicants must register on the Sichuan Government Services Network, complete identity verification, and log in before submitting.
• Applicants should describe the information they need clearly and specifically. It is advisable to provide the name, document number, or other distinguishing details that will help the agency locate the information.
• If an application is unclear, the agency will provide guidance and explanation and will, within 7 working days of receiving the application, notify the applicant once of the corrections needed, explaining what must be corrected and a reasonable correction period. If the corrected application does not meet requirements or still cannot identify specific government information, the agency will inform the applicant in writing that the application is unclear and cannot be processed. If the applicant fails to correct the application within the period without justified reason, the application is treated as abandoned and will no longer be processed.

How Applications Are Answered

The guide describes several possible responses:

• If the requested information can be disclosed, the agency provides it or informs the applicant of the manner, channel, and time for obtaining it.
• If the requested information is not within the agency's responsibility to disclose, the agency informs the applicant and explains why. If the agency responsible can be identified, it informs the applicant of that agency's name and contact details.
• If the agency has already responded to an application and the applicant repeatedly requests the same information, the agency informs the applicant that the request will not be processed again.
• If the requested information concerns business registration, real estate registration records, or similar information for which laws or administrative regulations contain special provisions on access, the agency informs the applicant to proceed under those laws and regulations.

Processing Time Limits

Except where a reply can be given on the spot, the agency replies within 20 working days of receiving the application. If an extension is needed, the head of the agency's government information disclosure office must approve it and notify the applicant in writing. The extension may not exceed 20 working days.

Time spent consulting third parties and other agencies is not counted in the processing period. For applications requiring correction, the reply period starts from the date the agency receives the corrected application.

If the number or frequency of an applicant's requests clearly exceeds a reasonable scope, the agency may ask the applicant to explain the reason. If the reason is unreasonable, the agency informs the applicant that the request will not be processed. If the reason is reasonable but a reply cannot be given within the period set by Article 33 of the Regulation, the agency determines a reasonable delayed reply period and informs the applicant.

Form of Provision and Fees

Except where the Regulation's Article 37 allows differentiated handling, the agency provides information according to its actual records and is not obliged to process or analyze existing government information.

The agency determines the specific form of provision based on the applicant's request and its actual records. If providing information in the requested form could endanger the safety of the information carrier or make disclosure costs too high, the agency provides it through electronic data or another appropriate form, or arranges for the applicant to inspect or transcribe the information.

Under Article 42 of the Regulation, the agency charges information processing fees strictly in accordance with the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the Measures for the Administration of Government Information Disclosure Information Processing Fees (Guobanhan [2020] No. 109) and relevant provincial provisions.

If You Believe Your Rights Are Infringed

Under Article 51 of the Regulation, applicants who believe an administrative agency has infringed their lawful rights in government information disclosure work may complain or report to the higher-level administrative agency or the competent government information disclosure department. They may also apply for administrative reconsideration or bring an administrative lawsuit in accordance with the law.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.