Published by ChinaMNC · Qingyang

How Foreign Founders in Sichuan Can Access Government Information: A Practical Guide

A practical overview of Sichuan's government information disclosure rules for foreign founders, covering proactive disclosure, how to file an information request, timelines, and fees.

Why Government Information Access Matters for Foreign Founders in Sichuan

Foreign founders establishing or operating a company in Sichuan often need official documents to plan investments, verify regulatory requirements, or understand local policy. The Sichuan Provincial People's Government publishes a guide explaining how citizens, legal persons, and other organizations can obtain government information from the provincial government and its General Office. The guide is issued under China's Regulation on Open Government Information (State Council Order No. 711). For foreign founders, it is a useful map of what is published proactively and how to request anything that is not.

What Is Disclosed Proactively

Under the principle of fairness, legality, and convenience, the provincial government proactively releases information that affects public interests, that the public needs to know about, or that requires public participation in decision-making. The guide lists ten main categories of proactively disclosed information:

• Leadership and structure: provincial government leaders and their divisions of work, the setup and main duties of government bodies, and the 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: the government work report, important provincial meetings, and information on leaders' attendance at major official activities.
• Planning and statistics: provincial economic and social development plans, special plans, regional plans and related policies, plus economic and social statistics.
• Administrative matters: administrative licensing, penalties, compulsory measures, and other external management and service items.
• Finance and procurement: fiscal budgets and final accounts, centralized government procurement, and administrative fees.
• Major projects: approval and implementation status of major construction projects.
• Livelihood issues: policies and implementation on poverty alleviation, education, healthcare, social security, and employment promotion; emergency plans, early warning information, and responses for public incidents; and supervision and inspection of environmental protection, public health, work safety, food and drug safety, and product quality.
• Personnel matters: provincial personnel appointments and removals, and civil service recruitment.
• Other information required by law, regulations, rules, and national provisions to be disclosed proactively.

Where the Information Appears

Proactively disclosed information is published through several channels: the Sichuan Provincial People's Government Gazette; the provincial government portal website; the "Sichuan Release" Sina Weibo account, WeChat public account, and the provincial government website's Toutiao account; provincial government press conferences; and other media such as radio, television, and newspapers. Information is also made available at the Sichuan Provincial Government Government Services and Public Resources Trading Service Center, the Sichuan Provincial Archives, and the Sichuan Provincial Library, which serve as acceptance and reading venues.

Timing of Disclosure

Information within the proactive disclosure scope is published within 20 working days from the date it is formed or changed, unless laws or regulations provide otherwise.

Requesting Information That Is Not Published Proactively

Beyond proactively disclosed material, citizens, legal persons, and other organizations (referred to as applicants) may request government information from the Sichuan Provincial People's Government and its General Office. The General Office accepts these requests in accordance with the Regulation, and the provincial government information disclosure office handles the specifics.

First, Identify the Right Agency

To obtain information accurately and quickly, applicants should first determine which agency holds it. Applicants can visit the provincial government portal, click on "Institutional Functions," and review the main duties and organizational setup of provincial administrative agencies. They should then submit a request to the appropriate agency through the channels it has opened, following its specific usage notes. For example:

• Information on project approval and feasibility study reports for major construction projects should be requested from development and reform departments.
• Information on collective land expropriation should be requested from natural resources departments.
• Information on expropriation and compensation of housing on state-owned land, and on shantytown renovation, can be requested from the city or county government where the applicant is located and its housing and urban-rural development department.

How to Submit a Request

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

• In person: the agency has a government information request acceptance point at the provincial government services center. Applicants can collect the Government Information Disclosure Application Form on site, complete it, and submit it in person.
• Online: applicants register a user account on the Sichuan Government Services Website as prompted, log in, and apply online. They select the application type, enter their information such as name and ID number, and can check the progress of the application.

Practical Tips Before You Apply

• Check proactive channels first. Handling a request takes time. To obtain information promptly, applicants should search the proactive disclosure channels described above before submitting a request, and only apply if the information cannot be found. 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 reporting channels.
• Complete the application form. The form is available at the acceptance point and can be downloaded from the provincial government portal. Photocopies are valid. For online applications, it can be filled in directly online.
• Provide identification. In-person applicants must show a valid ID document. Applicants submitting by letter should attach a copy of a valid ID document to the form. Online applicants must register on the Sichuan Government Services Website and complete identity verification before logging in to submit.
• Describe the information clearly. The description should point to specific information. Applicants are advised to provide the name, document number, or other characteristic details that help the agency locate it.
• Respond to requests for clarification. If a request is unclear, the agency will provide guidance and explanation and, within 7 working days of receiving the request, notify the applicant once of the items to be supplemented and a reasonable deadline. If the supplemented request still does not identify specific information, the agency will inform the applicant in writing that the request cannot be processed. If the applicant fails to supplement without justified reason, the application is treated as abandoned.

How Responses Are Handled

Where the requested information can be disclosed, the agency provides it or explains how, where, and when to obtain it. If the information is not within the agency's responsibility to disclose, the agency informs the applicant and explains why; if the responsible agency can be identified, it provides that agency's name and contact details. If the applicant repeats a request for the same information after a prior response, the agency will state that it will not process it again. For information such as business registration or real estate registration records, where laws or administrative regulations set special rules, the applicant is told to follow those rules.

Timelines and Fees

Except where an answer can be given on the spot, the agency responds within 20 working days of receiving the request. If an extension is needed, the head of the agency's 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 supplemented requests, the response period runs from the date the supplemented request is received.

If the number or frequency of requests clearly exceeds a reasonable scope, the agency may ask the applicant to explain. If the reason is unreasonable, the agency will state that it will not process the request; if the reason is reasonable but a response cannot be given within the period set by Article 33 of the Regulation, the agency will set a reasonable delay and inform the applicant.

Except where severability under Article 37 of the Regulation applies, the agency provides information according to what it actually holds and is not obliged to process or analyze existing information. The form of provision is determined by the applicant's request and the agency's actual holdings; if providing information in the requested form would endanger the carrier or make disclosure too costly, the agency will provide it as electronic data or in another appropriate form, or arrange for the applicant to inspect or copy it.

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

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 department for government information disclosure, or may 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.