运输和物流
高效率的国内运输和物流业对于中国的现代化具有至
关重要的意义，这为全国范围的大市场奠定基础，为中国不
断增长并充满活力的国民经济提供保障。在加入 WTO 之前，
中国的运输与物流行业分割成众多地方和区域市场，地方保
护主义成为行业发展的羁绊。目前，这些壁垒在很大程度上
依然存在，除非彻底消除，否则中国无法享受加入 WTO 本
来应当给国民经济带来的好处。
2003-2004 年度出台的一些重要改革措施包括卡车运输
载重标准的实施，以及外商投资国内运输和物流行业第一轮
市场准入机制的建立等等。过去 12 个月见证的另一重大事
件是，在中国交通运输协会的支持下成立了“运输与物流协会”，
其目的是在从事广义的运输和物流业务(包括公路、铁路、航
空、水路运输和相关信息技术)的公司、高等院校以及研究开
发机构之间架起桥梁，并成为中外物流技术开发商之间技术
交流的渠道。
另一个重要的进程是国家标准化管理委员会于 2003 年 8
月成立了旨在为物流行业制定标准的全国委员会。委员会的
成员来自商务部、中国标准化研究所和科技部等机构。委员
会的使命主要是制定系统和信息管理标准以及电子数据标
准，这些正在设计过程中的标准均旨在促进物流各个环节之
间的统一性，从而为整个行业带来显而易见的效益。
《安排》还允许香港服务提供者以独资形式在内地提供
相关的货运分拨和物流服务，包括公路普通货物的运输、仓
储、装卸、加工、包装、配送及相关信息处理服务和有关咨
询业务、国内货运代理业务、利用计算机网络进行管理和运
作物流业务。《安排》中关于开放物流市场的先行优惠待遇
项目是非常慷慨的，与外商投资企业在中国入世议定书一揽
子承诺的同类项目下所获得的待遇相比，这些安排显得更为
开放和灵活。由于香港本身也是 WTO 成员，《安排》违反
了 WTO 关于国民待遇的基本原则，即：某个成员获得的好
处应该向所有成员开放。
中国对国内企业的一贯保护阻碍了市场化改革的进行。
除了屈指可数的例外情况，国内企业在物流和运输行业仍然
占主导地位。通常情况下，外商投资企业疲于应付繁琐的海
关和检疫规定以及进口货物必须履行的繁杂手续。材料的浪
费、新技术应用缓慢、将产品运往市场的周期长等现象普遍
存在。国有企业和小型私营生产商都在努力缩短采购周期，
提高现金流动性，并应用最低存货管理方法。
安全问题长期以来一直困扰中国国内物流和运输行业。
但在过去一年中，由于交通运输执法机构开始更多地介入市
场活动，针对陆路运输实施卡车载重标准、运输许可标准、
准运标准和道路载重标准，因此，物流和运输行业取得了长
足进展。虽然这么做增加了卡车运输的成本，但我们非常高
兴看到道路上严重超载的车辆数量明显减少。然而，这种令
人振奋的进步并不是真实情况的全面反映。中国国内运营商
在实施健康、安全和环境标准等方面仍然问题重重。
在农业部门，非冷冻运输和中间储存所导致的高损坏率
提高了中国消费者购买主食的成本。虽然中国已高度重视基
础设施的发展，但对食品和其他安全敏感产品的经营制定适
当规定的重要性被忽视了。中国的冷冻运输系统尚未开始发
展，这是中国在建设安全有效的分销系统时所面临的主要障
碍之一。
中国的入世承诺
需要注意的是在中国开放市场的入世承诺中物流并没有
被当作单独的类别对待。中国在加入 WTO 前后的不同阶段
对物流行业各环节外商投资的监管缺乏统一性，这点已导致
市场开放的局限性，并增加了投资的难度。
中国并没有专门在物流标题下做出市场开放承诺，而是对
物流范围中的多个环节做出了单独承诺，包括运输、货运代
理、仓储、包装和海运服务等等。所以很难确定哪些承诺适
用于本行业的参与者¹。而中国针对国内外投资的监管制度则
使情况进一步复杂化。这种制度一方面出台了把物流看作一
个包罗万象的服务行业的相关规定，另一方面又保留了单独
适用于物流行业内部不同环节的众多规定。
比如，2002 年 6 月 20 日，当时的外经贸部发布了《关于
开展试点设立外商投资物流企业工作有关问题的通知》。
《通知》规定，外商投资物流企业应该“能够根据实际需要，
选择对货物的运输、仓储、装卸、加工、包装、配送、信息
处理以及进出口等环节实施有机结合，形成比较完整的供应
链，为用户提供多功能一体化服务”。
《通知》对两类外商投资物流营运企业进行了区分：(1)
从事国际物流业务的外商投资物流企业(允许从事国际贸易)；
(2)从事第三方物流业务的外商投资物流企业(允许从事国内
货运代理业务)。外商投资物流企业应采取中外合资、中外合
作的形式；试点地区暂限于北京、天津、上海和重庆四个直
辖市以及浙江、江苏、广东三省及深圳经济特区(这些地点均
未在中国的入世承诺中出现过)；注册资本不得低于 500 万
美元。中国的物流行业高度分散、且未实现无缝覆盖，而上
述规定结合在一起形成了一系列限制性的投资标准，不仅严
重打击了外商对这一行业进行投资的积极性，而且在促进物
流行业必要的发展和重组方面自然也是收效甚微。
商务部颁布的《外商投资国际货运代理业管理办法》于
2003 年 1 月 10 日起生效。该管理办法的重点内容是对货运
代理业而非物流行业的外商投资进行管理。外国投资者投资
设立中外合资、中外合作的国际货运代理企业，外国合营者
的出资比例不应超过 75%；注册资本最低限额为 100 万美元。
外国投资的国际货运代理企业只能经营下列部分或全部业
务：“(一)订舱(租船、包机、包舱)、托运、仓储、包装；(二)
货物的监装、监卸、集装箱拼装拆箱、分拨、中转及相关的
短途运输服务；(三)代理报关、报验、报检、保险； (四)缮
制有关单证、交付运费、结算及交付杂费；(五)国际展品、
私人物品及过境货物运输代理；(六)国际多式联运、集运(含
集装箱拼箱)；(七)国际快递(不合私人信函和县级以上党政
军机关公文的寄递业务)；(八)咨询及其他国际货运代理业
务”。而这些业务在某种程度上是与上述外商投资物流企业可
以提供的业务相重叠的。
中国贸易和基础设施的进一步发展吸引了许多外国物
流和运输企业的目光。然而，中国分阶段开放物流业务的缓
慢且各不相同的时间表(CEPA 除外)仍然在抑制外商进一步
参与物流行业。总体而言，中国的物流改革和发展缺乏跨部
门的统一性，这不仅使长期存在的市场分散化问题得以继续
滋长，而且，在整个中国都大幅度增加了物流营运的不必要
的成本。非关税壁垒、缺乏透明度以及规定的实施缺乏连贯
性等问题进一步阻碍了物流行业的发展。
美国商会认为，中国可以通过鼓励投资、简化注册和监
管要求以及取消地区贸易壁垒等手段来改善物流和运输服
务。朝此目标迈进的重要一步是将目前各自为政的外运和内
运行业协会并入中国运输与物流管理理事会，以便后者代表
整个行业与监管部门就拟制定的规则开展合作。
物流行业持续而分散的改革以及物流行业内部各环节分
别进行的改革最终起到了阻止外商为建立无缝覆盖的全国
性运营商进行适当投资的作用。而无缝覆盖全国性运营商的
建立将提供全方位的物流、运输和辅助服务，这些服务以降
低物流成本、提高物流效率和实现规模经济为目标，若能变
为现实，必将与外贸(进出口)行业和整个零售和批发行业的
改革相得益彰。考虑到中国作为世界最重要的制造业基地的
地位，考虑到对华投资已达到惊人的创记录水平，考虑到贸
易权和分销权已经开放，考虑到中国正日益重视将贸易和投
资扩展到广大的内陆和西部地区的必要性，我们希望，中国
将进一步努力，推进对运输和物流行业的总体改革，实现以
上概括的种种好处。
下表总结了中国入世承诺中与物流服务有关的内容，还
有这些内容在中国国内立法中的反映，以及迄今为止中国在
履行承诺和实施法律方面所做的努力(*)：
服务领
域
入世承
诺
2002
年 11
月 12
日
2003
年 11
月 12
日
2004 年
11 月 12
日
2005
年 11
月 12
日
2007 年
11 月 12
日
运 输 服
务
海 运 服
务(货运
和客运)
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
少 数 股
权；
海 运 理
货服务；
海 运 报
关服务；
海 运 代
理服务；
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
多 数 股
权；
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
多 数 股
权 ； 外
资 股 比
不超过
49%。
铁 路 运
输服务
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
少 数 股
权；
允许外资
在合资企
业中拥有
多数独资
子公司股
权；
允 许 设
立 外 资
独 资 子
公司；
道 路 运
输服务
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
少 数 股
权；
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
多 数 独
资 子 公
允许设立
外资独资
子公司
司股权；
* 自
2002
年 11
月 起 ，
允 许 外
资 股 比
不超过
75%；
货 物 运
输 代 理
服务
允 许 外
资 股 比
不超过
50% ；
外 方 需
拥 有 至
少连续
3 年 的
经 验 ；
最 低 注
册 资 本
应 不 少
于 100
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
多 数 独
资 子 公
司股权；
* 自
2003 年
起 ， 允
许 外 资
股 比 不
超 过
分 支 机
构 在 注
册 资 本
要 求 上
享 受 国
民 待 遇
(50 万
人 民
币；)合
资 企 业
在 中 国
经 营 2
年(原来
在最低注
册资本要
求上享受
国民待遇
(200-500
万 人 民
币)；
允 许 设
立 外 资
独 资 子
公司
万美元；
在 中 国
经 营 一
年 后 ，
合 资 企
业 在 双
方 注 册
资 本 均
到位后，
可 设 立
分 支 机
构 ， 每
设 立 一
只 分 支
机 构 ，
合 资 企
业 注 册
资 本 应
增加 12
万美元。
75%； 规定位
5 年)后，
可 建 立
第 二 家
合 资 企
业；
* 自
2003 年
起 合 资
企 业 在
中 国 经
营 2 年
后 ， 可
建 立 第
二 家 合
资企业；
仓 储 服
务
允 许 外
资 在 合
允 许 外
资 在 合
允许设立
外资独资
资 企 业
中 拥 有
少 数 股
权；
资 企 业
中 拥 有
多 数 独
资 子 公
司股权；
* 在 道
路运输、
货 运 代
理 和 海
运 规 定
中 得 到
规定；
子公司；
包 装 服
务
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
少 数 股
权；
允 许 外
资 在 合
资 企 业
中 拥 有
多 数 独
资 子 公
司股权；
*
允许设立
外资独资
子公司；
物 流 服 无承诺；
务 * 国 际
物 流 服
务 允 许
外 资 股
比 不 超
过 50%；
自 2002
年 7 月
起 允 许
设 立 从
事 第 三
方 物 流
服 务 的
合 资 企
业；
装 卸 服
务
无承诺；
加 工 服
务
无承诺；
配 送 服
务
无承诺；
信 息 处
理服务
无承诺；
中国美国商会和上海美国商会认为，迄今为止中国履行
了有关的入世承诺。遗憾的是，本行业所存在的问题已经超
出入世一揽子承诺的范畴；当然，我们欢迎中国政府在物流
行业管理中进一步关注国民待遇等 WTO 原则。
地理限制
随着中国贸易额的不断增加，本国企业和跨国公司都急
需高效率有能力的运输和物流企业来帮助他们在中国各地
分销货物。遗憾的是，根据中国的许可规定，企业必须在其
开展运营的每个省份分别取得经营许可。在许多地方，外省
的卡车不得进城，而且必须缴纳本地卡车无须缴纳的过路费。
在许多情况下，由于这些限制，外地卡车必须把货物卸下，
重新装上本地的运输车辆，方可获准通行。中国应该学习大
多数国家的标准做法，允许运输和物流公司在统一的全国性
经营许可制度下，而不是在目前这种繁琐的各地分别许可的
制度下开展运营。
行业磋商和监管
中国经常在没有发出预告或公开征求意见的情况下颁
布有关法规，而实施细则的发布更是要在相关法规出台后好
几个月。结果，在有些情形下，新出台的规定并不切合实际，
使得企业很难遵守。中国政府若能邀请有关专家参与法规的
起草过程，并在法规颁布后投入更多的时间来直接向受影响
的公司解释新规定，则可以避免发生这些困难。
另一个问题是，中国政府的监管部门多头管理现象非常
严重，行业管理涉及商务部、国家质量监督检验检疫总局
(AQSIQ)、交通部、国家工商总局、海关总署、国家税务总
局、国家外汇管理局和众多运输主管部门。这种情况所造成
的复杂局面和工作延误，与政府提高效率的既定目标背道而
驰。比如，在过去一年中，海关已颁布一些旨在加快进口手
续办理速度的办法。但是，由于其他政府部门，尤其是检验
检疫部门没有同时加快其相关程序，这些办法的效应并没有
得到体现，进口商的进口手续迟迟无法办理完毕的现象仍然
在继续(见下文例子)。在集装箱获准从码头运离之前，货物
必须完成清关手续。为此，海关已为进出口文件处理建立 7
天 24 小时的服务制度。但是，由于检验和完税凭证的开具
只能在正常工作时间进行，大部分货物仍然无法从这个新政
策中受益。因此，为了实现高效率报关目的，海关应该在正
常工作时间之外提供全方位报关服务，而各口岸的计划部门
应该延长工作时间，结束目前较早下班的做法。
中国的关税税则分类的透明度正日益提高，不断与国际
标准接轨。然而，许多分类仍然模糊不清。因此，中国应该
更新分类程序，并恪守国际标准，确保关税的分布更趋公平
合理，并避免因分类而引起的纠纷。
虽然电子口岸制度的目标是在所有相关政府部门(安全
部门、检疫部门、卫生部门和财政部门)之间为所有报关手续
提供统一的平台，但真正把该制度付诸实施的只有海关一家。
目前，中国仍然没有建立协调的报关程序，进口商仍然必须
从各部门分别获取各相关项目的审批。中国应该建立一次性
完成所有手续的“一站式”报关制度。
所有参与海关监管程序的政府部门都应该在合作基础
上与运输行业所有参与者共同探讨拟实施的规定的影响，并
允许企业为即将来临的变革做好准备。
在有些城市，海关已为某些类别的企业建立商品预分类
业务。这种业务允许企业通过创建数据库，对其所进口的所
有货物进行详细描述，达到在海关登记其货物的目的。因此，
在这些企业进口货物时，海关可以应用为所有已列项目预先
确定的分类。这么做有助于加快载有不同商品的集装箱的报
关速度。遗憾的是，到现在为止，这种计划的实施范围非常
有限。我们认为，这种计划应该扩展应用于更多的企业，而
分类的谈判过程应该加速。此外，一旦分类在一家海关得到
确认，就应该自动延伸应用到全国各地所有其他海关。
电子数据交换(EDI) 连接
海关已实施与一些企业和货运代理公司的 EDI 连接。但
是，在大多数情况下，海关仍然要求企业在每次申请报关时，
在派人提交纸质报关单的同时提交电子报关单。海关应该全
面接受以电子形式提交的报关单，以提高处理效率。
我们在此基础上进一步建议，海关允许企业在报关后以
电子形式缴纳关税。贸易商和海关之间的直接 EDI 连接应该
允许合格的企业和代理公司在报关后缴纳关税和其他进口
环节税款。也就是说，符合条件的企业和代理公司应该能够
在缴纳关税之前获得海关对其装运的货物放行。
取消跨海关报关要求
目前，海关总署根据各地海关所处理的货物的金额对后
者的业绩和预算进行评估，这种做法带来了不少棘手问题。
比如，海关总署要求内地海关监督到达其他口岸的货物。但
货物应该在入境口岸完成报关手续，不应该要求将货物保税
转移至最终目的地。两家海关对同一批货物进行监督将导致
重复劳动，并与有关规定的解释发生抵触，从而大幅度延长
货物向内地目的地的转口时间。
运输保险
大多数跨国公司外包其保险业务，但由国际保险公司提
供的保险在中国是无效的。因此，企业在中国运输货物时必
须另行购买保险，这种情况大幅度增加了成本、降低了效率。
我们希望中国政府承认国际保险公司签发的超额保险凭证。
危险物品的运输和食品的标签
中国对运输和包装危险物品(DG)的严格规定已开始在
一些领域，尤其是在进出口领域，得到更为严格的落实。从
事危险物品运输的公司在当地获得许可，接受监督。从技术
上讲，达到一定标准的公司都可以获得运输危险物品的许可，
但在实际操作中，只有拥有强大政府关系的公司才能获得此
种许可。比如，在 2003 年，上海只有一家公司获得了运输
危险物品的许可—而这家公司根本没有从事此业务的经验。
授予许可时应该依据申请人的经验和长处，并通过对企
业的设备维护记录、司机安全记录以及为司机和卡车所建立
的健康、安全和环境程序进行检查来落实许可的颁发工作。
我们认为，为了保证安全，应由一家公正的全国性检验机构
对所有已获准运输危险物品的公司进行定期检查，以确保这
些公司连贯一致地遵守培训和安全标准。
各省对冷冻物流系统安全标准的应用千差万别，导致了
惊人的高损坏率和数以百万计的食物中毒事件。尽管最近情
况有所变化，但中国的消费者经常成为运载不当或“温控失调”
食品的牺牲品。对于进口食品，新的标签制度要求在对货物
进行检验和实际运输之前先获得省和中央一级的标签批准。
从理论上讲，审批过程不应超过三个月，但实际的时间要长
得多，因而经常对等候进入分销系统的食品产生有害影响。
与食品标签问题一样，围绕中国强制认证(CCC)标志的
许多问题也在困扰许多消费产品。根据目前的 CCC 规则要
求，为了实现初步认证，海外厂家必须接受中国检验人员的
检验。这种做法不仅大幅度增加了成本，带来了严重的延误，
而且，在大多数情况下，如果中国与其他国家达成协议，承
认境外厂家所适用的国际标准，那么，根本没有必要采取这
种做法。
快递服务
贸易和投资的增长呼唤及时的货物和文件发送服务，快
递服务业的重要性也因此日趋突出。为了提供高效率的服务，
快地服务企业必须控制取货和送货上门的服务程序，必须有
能力追踪所运货物，并有能力为报关提供方便。中国的企业
若希望全面参与全球供应链，并在区域和全球竞争中占据优
势地位，上述服务是非常有必要的。
邮政改革和新《邮政法》
国务院法制办(LAO)已花了两年多的时间起草新的《邮
政法》。同时，国家发展与改革委员会(NDRC)在研究对包括
邮政储蓄和邮递服务在内的邮政系统进行总体改革和重组。
据报道，国家发改委已将相关建议提交国务院，而法制办仍
然在为起草新法律而努力。
关于新的《邮政法》草案，我们主要关注以下四个方面：
邮政普遍服务基金。新的《邮政法》草案针对快递业的收
入征收一种全新的未具体说明的费用(细节尚待确定)，以支
持中国邮政履行邮政普遍服务义务。任何行业(在本案例中是
快递业)都没有义务资助政府履行其提供普遍邮政服务的责
任，尤其是在普遍邮政服务已由邮政专营的情况下更没有此
种义务。这一条款应该从草案中删除。
邮政专营的定义。草案的建议中包括对邮政专营的定义，
即：单件重量在 500 克以下的私人信件(非商务信函)的寄递
由邮政企业专营。这一定义若成为法律条款内容，将违反中
国入世议定书中以水平承诺方式规定的反压价条款。快递行
业建议采用类似于 1997 年欧盟采纳的标准。快递行业已提
议以初始 350 克的重量和三倍于航空信的价格这两个标准
来界定，随后还可以分阶段下调。国际快递业反对在这些规
则和其他规则上对国际和国内快递运营商实施区别对待的
做法。
缺乏独立监管机构。如果没有独立的监管机构，没有在法
律上和经营上均独立于邮政运营商的监管机构，那么，草案
中的许多条款都将被专营服务提供者滥用。虽然草案的修正
案提及设立独立监管机构的必要性，而且高层官员也已表示
将创建此种机构，但是，目前的《邮政法》草案尚未对此种
独立性做出明确规定。
新的许可制度。《邮政法》草案创建了一种新的许可制度，
并赋予了邮政监管机构新的、比较宽泛的监督、检查和惩罚
权限。这些权力很有可能被滥用，而且，在缺乏独立监管机
构的情况下更有可能被滥用。
快递的海关监管
近几年，海关总署在实现报关手续的合理化，更新自动
化系统并提高海关官员专业水平方面均已取得进步。除了上
文针对海关提出的建议，以下问题也需要进一步得到关注：
目前，对于低值快递货物，在海关最终放行前必须提供纸
质报关单、空运单和发票复印件。这种做法导致了不必要的
工作延误和成本的上涨。应该在海关通过 EDI 发出批准放行
指示之后立即对货物放行，不再要求企业提供进一步的纸质
文件。
在机场内部建立快递装卸中心(EHU)。目前，中国的大多
数快递处理中心位于机场外面，并被当作二流海关保税仓库
对待。这就增加了货物往返机场的时间，也需要额外的保税
移交手续。随着及时交付成为大多数行业的主要要求，更高
效的海关监管、更短的周转时间以及在快递装卸中心内部对
集装箱进行重装和翻新的许可都具有至关重要的意义。
根据金额限制进行分类。海关应该把货物金额作为分类标
准，尤其是应该针对低值货物应用该分类标准，但专控物资
除外。
快递业的监管问题
全国性许可。为了向中国客户提供最高质量、最具竞争力
的服务，外商应获允投资国际货运代理业和快递服务业，并
依照统一的全国性许可在全世界和全国范围内提供全方位
的服务。目前，中国要求国际快递公司在其开展运营的每个
城市分别获得当地主管部门的许可，这种做法使企业效率低
下、不堪重负。统一的中央审批，也许再加上在地方主管部
门进行登记注册的要求，就足以实现此方面的监管目标。
建议
建立全国性许可制度，允许国内和外商投资的运输和物
流企业都能在全国范围内开展经营，并授予企业在所有入
境口岸报关时通用的单一许可。
允许外商投资国际货运代理公司在全国范围内提供国内
服务，作为其国际业务的延伸；
与进出口商建立合作伙伴关系，以便就新法律法规的起
草征求商界意见，并评估法律草案的影响；
确保以公平方式对待外国企业，取消过高的注册资本和
资产要求，统一落实食品安全标准，并消除机场服务的垄
断现象；
全面落实 EDI 制度，实现亚太经济合作组织(APEC)关
于“无纸贸易环境”的构想，并加快支持无纸贸易的法律法
规的颁布速度。将海关报关和检验检疫手续结合起来，提
供一站式服务；
鼓励通过竞争提高效率，具体措施包取消针对包裹和信
件的壁垒，尤其是针对 500 克以下包裹的限制性规定；
承认国际保险公司的超额保险凭证；
扩大“A 类”进口商可以享受的待遇，包括商品预分类和
货物放行后再缴纳关税。
¹最近几年，涉及物流行业内部开放的规定主要包括：在铁路
投资方面，铁道部和外经贸部联合发布了《外商投资铁路货
物运输业审批与管理暂行办法》(2000 年 8 月 29 日颁布)；在
道路运输方面，《外商投资道路运输业管理规定》(2001 年
11 月 20 日颁布)已允许外商投资道路运输业。中国加入
WTO 以后，我们已见证了中国出台的许多关于引进外商投
资的新规定，如《中华人民共和国国际海运条例》(2002 年 12
月 11 日颁布)，该条例规定了以下领域的外商投资：从事国
际海运的合资企业、国际船运代理、国际海运管理、国际海
运货物装卸、以及设立从事国际海运货物仓储业务的外商独
资企业等。
Transportation& Logistics
The formation of an efficient domestic transportation and
logistics sector is recognized by China as critical to its own
modernization, acutely necessary to complement an
ever-growing and dynamic economy by creating the
infrastructure of an integrated national market. Prior to WTO
accession, China's transportation and logistics sector was
fragmented into multiple local and regional markets, with local
protectionism impeding commerce. Many of these barriers still
remain, and will prevent realization of the full benefits of WTO
accession to the economy unless they are removed.
Several important reforms during 2003-2004 included the
enforcement of trucking weight standards and the institution of
the first round of market-entry mechanisms for foreign-invested
enterprises in the domestic transportation and logistics sector.
The past 12 months also saw the establishment of the Society of
Transportation and Logistics under the auspices of the China
Communications and Transportation Association, with the
objective of bringing together companies, university
departments, and research and development entities engaged in
the wide spectrum of transportation and logistics activities,
including road, railway, aviation, water transportation, and
related information technology, to act as a conduit for the flow
of technology between Chinese and overseas logistics
technology developers.
Another significant development was the Standardization
Administration of China's August 2003 establishment of a
national committee for the formulation of standards for the
logistics industry. With membership drawn from bodies such as
the MOFCOM, PRC Standardization Institute, and the Ministry
for Science and Technology, the mission of the national
committee is primarily to formulate standards for systems and
information management, plus electronic data standards — such
standards being designed to promote uniformity within the
various logistics sub-sectors, thereby deriving obvious benefits
for the entire industry.
Market-oriented reform is hindered by the continued protection
of domestic companies. Domestic players still dominate the
field with few exceptions. Foreign companies are often left to
grapple with onerous customs and quarantine policies as well as
cumbersome processes for importing goods. The sector is
characterized by material wastage, slow adoption of new
technologies, and protracted delivery times in bringing products
to market. State-owned enterprises and small private
manufacturers struggle to reduce purchasing cycles, improve
cash flow liquidity, and utilize just-intime inventory
management.
Safety issues have long plagued the domestic transportation and
logistics sector. Significant progress has been made over the
past year as transport enforcement agencies have begun stepping
up their visibility in market activities, enforcing truckload
weight, licensing, permits, and road capacity standards for
overland transport. Although this has made truck transportation
more expensive, we are glad to see fewer egregiously
overloaded vehicles on the highways. Despite this encouraging
progress, implementation of health, safety, and environmental
standards by local operators remains problematic.
In the agricultural sector, high rates of spoilage due to
non-refrigerated transport and intermediate storage raise the cost
of staple goods to Chinese consumers. Although China has
given high priority to infrastructure development, it has
neglected providing the appropriate regulations for handling
food and other safety sensitive products. China's cold chain has
not yet begun to develop and is a major deficiency in the
development of a safe and efficient distribution system.
China's WTO Commitments
It is important to note that logistics is not treated as a distinct
category under China's WTO market liberalization commitments.
The non-uniformity of foreign investment regulation, both
pre-and-post WTO accession, in the various sub-sectors within
logistics at different times, has led to both limited market
liberalization and investment difficulties.
Rather than granting market liberalization commitments under
the single heading of logistics, China made separate
commitments with respect to numerous, distinct sub-sectors
falling within the remit of logistics, including transportation,
freight forwarding, warehousing, packaging, and maritime
services. Determining which commitments are applicable to
industry participants can thus be difficult.¹ It is further
complicated by China's domestic and foreign investment
regulatory regime, which provides regulations treating logistics
as an all inclusive service sector, while simultaneously retaining
numerous regulations that apply separately to individual
sub-sectors within logistics. For example, on June 20, 2002, the
then MOFTEC issued its Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning
the Experimental Establishment of Foreign-Invested Logistics
Enterprises, which provided that a foreign-invested logistics
company "shall, according to actual requirements, be able to
provide clients with multi-functional integrated supply-chain
services of storage, loading and unloading, processing,
packaging, delivery, information-handling, import and export, or
other fields in a complete network for unified commodity
shipment." The Notice distinguished two general categories of
foreign-invested logistics operators: (a) International Logistics
(foreign trade permitted) and (b) Third-Party Logistics
(domestic freight forwarding permitted). It restricted investment
to joint ventures, restricted geographic coverage to Beijing,
Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong,
and Shenzhen (none of which appeared in China's WTO
commitments), and established a minimum registered capital
requirement of US$5 million. This collectively constituted a
series of restrictive investment criteria that effectively served to
discourage foreign investment in this highly fragmented and
un-seamless sector, and, of course, achieved little in terms of
promoting its necessary development and restructuring.
Effective January 10, 2003, MOFCOM promulgated the
Administrative Measures on Foreign-Invested International
Freight Forwarding Agencies. These regulations focus on the
treatment of foreign investment in the freight forwarding sector,
rather than the logistics sector. Foreign investment in freight
forwarding is restricted to joint ventures with the foreign
investor's equity being limited to 75 percent, coupled with a
minimum registered capital requirement of US$1 million. A
foreign-invested freight forwarder may only undertake “booking;
warehousing; packing; supervising (un)loading; container
stuffing; short-distance transport; arranging customs clearance
and insurance; documentation and settlement of accounts
including paying freight charges; act as agent for international
exhibitions; personal goods and transit cargo; arrange
international multimode/container transportation; international
express delivery; and consultancy.” To some extent, this range
of services overlaps with the services that may be offered by
foreign-invested logistics operators as described above.
Increased trade and infrastructure development has attracted the
interest of many foreign logistics and transportation players, but
the lengthy timeline, with the exception of CEPA, for phased
WTO liberalization of logistics services continues to delay
greater foreign participation. Overall, the lack of cross-sectoral
uniformity in reform and development has encouraged market
fragmentation and has needlessly added to the costs of logistics
operations throughout China. Non-tariff barriers, lack of
transparency, and inconsistently applied regulations further
hinder development of the sector.
Our Chambers believe that China should improve logistics and
transportation services by encouraging more investment,
streamlining registration and regulatory requirements, and
removing regional trade barriers. One step toward achieving that
goal would be to combine the currently separate foreign and
domestic industry councils into a China Transportation &
Logistics Management Council, which would represent the
industry as a whole when working with regulatory authorities on
proposed rules.
The reform currently taking place in the logistics sector, and the
separate reform of its constituent subsectors, has ultimately
served to prevent meaningful foreign investment in the
establishment of seamless nationwide operators. Establishment
of such operators offer a comprehensive range of logistics,
transportation and ancillary services that would target the
achievement of lower logistics costs, greater efficiency and
economies of scale, and would certainly complement the
dramatic reforms in the foreign trade (import and export) sector,
as well as the wholesale and retail distribution sectors. Having
regard for China's position as a leading manufacturer — with
investment in China reaching staggering record levels, with
trading and distribution rights already liberalized, and with an
increased emphasis on the need to expand trade and investment
to China's vast interior and western regions — it is hoped that
improvements will be made in streamlining the collective
reform and development of the transportation and logistics
sector leading to the benefits outlined above.
Below is a summary of the WTO commitments in the specific
service areas identified within the logistics category in China's
domestic legislation, as well as a list of China's implementation
efforts to date (*):
SERVICE
AREA
ACCESSION
12/11/
2002
12/11/
2003
12/11/
2004
12/11/
2005
12/11/
2007
Transport
Services
Maritime
Services
(freight &
passengers)
Minority FIEs
allowed;
Chairman and
GM appointed
by Chinese
party.
Maritime
Cargo
handling
Customs
clearance
Agency
services
Majority FIEs
allowed.
Majority FIEs
allowed.
49% FIEs
allowed.
Railway
Transport
Minority FIEs
allowed.
Majority
FIEs
WFOEs
allowed
Road
Transport
Minority FIEs
allowed.
Majority
FIEs
allowed.
*75% FIEs
allowed
from
WFOEs
allowed.
November
2002.
Freight
Forwarding
50% FIEs
allowed;
Foreign party
needs3 years'
experience;
Minimum
registered
capital =
$1,000,000;
Branches
allowed after 1
year of
operation,with
$120,000
capital per
branch.
Majority
FIEs
allowed.
*75% FIEs
allowed
from Jan
2003.
National treatment
for branch capital
(500,000 RMB);
Second JV can be
set up after two
years of
operation(reduced
from five years).
*Second JV allowed
after two years from
Jan 2003.
National
treatment for
minimum
capital
requirement
(2 million to
5 million
RMB).
Wholly
owned
FIEs
allowed.
Warehousing Minority FIEs
allowed.
Majority
FIEs
allowed.
WFOEs
allowed.
*Provided
for
under road
transport,
freight
forwarding
and
maritime
rules.
Packaging Minority FIEs
allowed.
Majority
FIEs
allowed.*
WFOEs
allowed.
Logistics No
commitment.
*50% FIEs
allowed
for
international
logistics
services;
JVs allowed for
thirdparty
logistics
services
from July 2002.
Loading and
Unloading
No
commitment.
Processing No
commitment.
Delivery
Services
No
commitment.
Information
Processing
No
commitment.
AmCham-China and AmCham-Shanghai recognize that China
has complied with its WTO commitments to date. Unfortunately,
the problems in this sector go well beyond the framework of the
WTO accession package, although greater attention to WTO
principles, such as national treatment in regulating the sector,
would be welcome.
Geographical Restrictions
With China's increasing trade volumes, both local and
multinational corporations have an acute need for capable and
efficient transportation and logistics firms to distribute their
goods throughout China. Unfortunately, China's licensing
regulations require firms to obtain a separate business license
for each province in which they operate. In many localities,
out-of-province trucks are arbitrarily stopped at city borders and
subjected to tolls that local trucks are not required to pay. In
many cases, this necessitates expensive unloading and reloading
onto local carriers. As is standard practice in most countries,
transportation and logistics companies in China should be
permitted to operate under a single nationwide license rather
than under the cumbersome local licensing system now in place.
Industry Consultation and Regulation
Regulations are often promulgated without warning or
consultation, and implementing rules are normally not issued
until months later. In some cases, as a result, new regulations
often prove to be impractical and make compliance overly
difficult. These difficulties could be avoided if the government
directly involved industry experts in the drafting process and
spent more time after issuance to thoroughly explain new
regulations to affected companies.
Another problem is that regulatory oversight is highly
fragmented, involving MOFCOM, the State General
Administration for Quality Supervision Inspection and
Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Ministry of Communications, the
State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the General
Administration of Customs, the State Administration of
Taxation, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and
numerous traffic bureaus. This creates complications and delays,
and runs counter to the government's stated goal of increasing
efficiency. For example, Customs announced several measures
to speed up processing of imports over the past year. However,
the benefits of these measures have been negated because other
government entities, especially in the inspection and quarantine
area, have not simultaneously sped up their processes, resulting
in continued delays for importers.
The following example serves to highlight this problem. Cargo
must obtain Customs clearances before containers can be
removed from the port. To this end, Customs has instituted a
7-day, 24-hour service for processing paperwork for imports and
exports. However, because inspections and issuance of duty
receipts only takes place during normal working hours, the
majority of cargo cannot benefit from the new policies. In order
to achieve efficient clearance, Customs should offer full
clearance services after-hours while the planning departments of
the Ports should extend the current early cutoff times.
China's system of tariff classification is becoming increasingly
transparent and closer to world standards. However, many
classifications remain ambiguous and vague. It is important to
update classifications regularly and adhere to global standards to
ensure a more equitable assignment of tariffs and to avoid
classification disputes.
Although the E-Port system was intended to provide a common
platform for all clearance procedures among the relevant
government agencies (security, quarantine, health, finance, etc.),
only Customs has implemented it. There is still no coordinated
clearance process, and importers must still obtain approvals
from each agency separately. A system should be put in place
whereby all procedures can be completed in one step.
All government agencies involved in regulating the Customs
process should work together on a cooperative basis with all
industry participants to discuss the impact of proposed
regulations and, in turn, allow enterprises to prepare for
upcoming changes.
In certain cities, Customs has instituted a pre-classification
program for some types of enterprises. This program allows
companies to register their cargo with Customs by creating a
database providing detailed descriptions of all their imported
goods. Thus, when cargo is imported, Customs can use the
pre-established classifications for all listed items. This speeds
clearance for container loads containing different commodities.
Unfortunately, until now, this program has had very limited
reach. It should be expanded to more companies and the process
of negotiating the classifications should be expedited. In
addition, once the classification is recognized in one customs
house, it should be automatically extended countrywide.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Connections
Customs has implemented Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
connections with certain enterprises and forwarding companies.
However, in a majority of cases, Customs still requires
submission of both a paper declaration, which has to be
presented in person, as well as an electronic copy for each single
submission. Customs should accept electronic submissions
across the board to allow for more efficient processing.
We further recommend that electronic, post-clearance payment
of duties be allowed. The direct EDI link between traders and
Customs should allow for the post-clearance payment of duties
and taxes for qualified traders and agents. That is, qualified
traders and agents should be able to have their shipments
released prior to tariff payments.
Eliminate Transclearance Requirements
The current practice by Customs of evaluating the performance
and budget of individual Customs houses, according to the value
of the goods processed, creates several obstacles for efficient
clearance of goods. For example, it requires local inland
Customs houses to take on supervisory roles over goods that
arrive at other ports. Cargo should be able to clear Customs at
the port of entry without requiring a bonded transfer to the final
destination. Supervision by two Customs houses results in
duplicated efforts and conflicting interpretations of regulations,
significantly lengthening the transit time to inland destinations.
Transport Insurance
Most multinational companies outsource insurance coverage,
but the insurance provided by these carriers is not valid in China.
Thus enterprises must purchase separate insurance when
transporting goods in China. This significantly increases costs
and undermines efficiency. We therefore urge the government to
recognize the excess and surplus lines certificates issued by
global insurance companies.
Dangerous Goods Transportation and Food Labeling
China's strict regulations for transporting and packing dangerous
goods (DG) have become more rigorously enforced in certain
areas, especially with respect to exports and imports. DG
transport companies are licensed and supervised locally.
Technically, companies fulfilling certain criteria are permitted to
obtain DG licenses, but in practice, only companies with strong
government connections have been able to do so. For example,
in 2003 only one company in Shanghai was newly licensed to
haul dangerous goods — a company with no prior experience in
the business.
Licenses should be granted based on merit and experience and
enforced through checks on equipment maintenance records,
driver safety records, and health, safety, and environmental
procedures in place for drivers and trucks. To ensure safety, we
believe that all companies granted the right to transport DG
should be reviewed regularly by an impartial, national
inspection agency to ensure they consistently meet training and
safety standards.
Safety standards in cold chain logistics are applied
inconsistently from province to province and result in
enormously high spoilage rates as well as in millions of cases of
food poisoning. Despite recent changes, Chinese consumers are
often victimized by food that has been mishandled or
“temperature abused.” For imported foods, a new labeling
system requires both provincial and national level approvals of
labels before goods can be inspected and physically transported.
The approval process is supposed to take no more than three
months, but in practice can take far longer, often with harmful
effects on food waiting to enter the distribution system.
Similar to the problem of food labeling are issues surrounding
the China Compulsory Certification (CCC) marks for many
consumer products. To achieve initial accreditation, current
CCC rules require that overseas factories be inspected by
China-based inspectors. This adds significant costs and delays
and, in most cases, would not be necessary if an agreement
could be reached on the recognition of international standards
for factories.
Express Delivery Services
The express delivery industry is becoming increasingly
important as the growth of trade and investment calls for the
timely delivery of goods and documents. To operate efficient
express delivery services, these companies require control over
the door-to-door pickup and delivery process, the ability to track
and trace shipments, and the facilitation of customs clearance.
These services are all necessary for enterprises in China to
participate fully in global supply chains and to be regionally and
globally competitive.
Postal Reform, New Postal Law
The State Council's Legislative Affairs Office (LAO) has been
working for over two years on drafting a new Postal Law. At the
same time, the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC) has been studying broad reform and restructuring of
the postal system, including both postal savings and mail service.
The NDRC has reportedly made its recommendations to the
State Council while the LAO continues to work on the draft law.
Our four principal concerns in the draft postal law are:
Universal postal service fund. Recent drafts of the law create
a new, unspecified levy (with the details to be worked out later)
on express industry revenues to support China Post's universal
service obligation. It is not the obligation of one industry (in this
case, the express delivery sector) to fund the government's
responsibility to provide universal postal service, especially
when a postal monopoly already exists for that very purpose.
This provision should be removed from the draft.
Definition of the postal monopoly. Proposals have included a
definition of the postal monopoly as all domestic deliveries of
private (., non-business) letters weighing less than 500 grams.
This would be a violation of the horizontal rollback provision
listed in China's WTO commitments. The express delivery
services industry has suggested implementing a system similar
in concept to that adopted by the European Union in 1997. The
industry has proposed an initial weight and price definition of
350 grams and three times the price of first class mail, followed
by several staged reductions in those numbers. The international
express delivery industry opposes any differentiation in these
and other rules between international and national express
operators.
Lack of an independent regulator. Without an independent
regulator, one that is both legally separate from, and
operationally independent of, the postal operator, many of the
provisions in the draft are subject to abuse by the monopoly
provider. Although the draft amendments refer to the need for
an independent regulator, and senior officials have stated that it
will be created, no such independence is explicitly included in
the provisions in current drafts of the law.
New licensing regime. The draft law creates a new licensing
regime and also provides broad new powers of supervision,
inspection, and punishment to the postal regulator. There is
strong potential for abuse of this power, especially without an
independent regulator.
Customs Issues for Express Delivery
The General Administration of Customs has made progress in
recent years in terms of rationalizing procedures, upgrading
automated systems, and boosting the professionalism of customs
officials. However, in addition to the Customs recommendations
made above, the following issues require further attention:
Paperless clearance for low-value express consignments. At
present, declarations, airway bills, and invoice copies must be
provided in paper format for the final release of a shipment
deemed to be a low-value express consignment. This results in
unnecessary delays and costs. Shipments should be released as
soon as the Customs release status is granted via EDI with no
further paperwork required.
Establish Express Handling Unit (EHU) facilities inside the
airport. Most of the EHU facilities are located outside the airport
and are treated as second-class Customs bonded warehouses.
This increases the time for shipments to move to and from the
aircraft, with additional bond transfer procedures required. As
justin- time delivery becomes the main requirement for most
industries, more efficient customs control and shorter
turn-around time, as well as allowing the resorting and
rebuilding of containers within an EHU inside the airport area,
are critical.
Categorization by value thresholds. Customs should adopt
shipment value as the classification criterion, especially for
low-value shipments, with the exception of controlled
commodities.
Regulatory Issues for Express Delivery
Nationwide License. To provide Chinese customers with the
highest quality and most competitive service, China should
allow foreign-invested international forwarding and express
delivery service companies to provide international and
nationwide services of all types with a single, nationwide license.
The requirement that international express firms obtain
permission from local authorities in each city they do business
in is inefficient and overly burdensome. One nationwide
approval, perhaps with a requirement to register with local
authorities (rather than obtain their approval), should be
sufficient.
Recommendations
Establish national licensing systems to allow domestic and
foreign invested transportation and logistics enterprises to
operate nationwide, and grant firms a single license covering
customs clearance in all ports of entry.
Allow foreign-invested international forwarding companies
to provide nationwide domestic service as an extension of
their international service.
Establish a collaborative partnership with importers and
exporters to allow feedback from the business community
regarding new regulations and assessments about the impacts
of draft regulations.
Ensure equitable treatment of foreign firms by eliminating
excessive capital and asset requirements, uniformly enforcing
food safety standards, and eliminating the monopoly in airport
services.
Fully implement the Electronic Data Interchange system to
fulfill APEC's vision of a “paperless trading environment”
and to expedite the promulgation of regulations to support
paperless trade. Combine Customs and CCIQ processing to
offer one-stop service.
Encourage efficiency through competition by removing
barriers on parcels and letters, particularly regarding packages
of less than 500 grams.
Recognize global insurance carriers' excess and surplus
lines.
Expand benefits for “class A” importers to include
pre-classifications and payment of duties after release of
cargo.
¹ In recent years, regulations providing for liberalization within
the sector have included, inter alia, the following: In the area of
railway investment, the Ministry of Railways and MOFTEC
jointly promulgated the Provisional Measures on the Approval
& Administration of Foreign Investment in the Railway Cargo
Transportation Sector (prom. Aug. 29, 2000). In the area of road
transportation, foreign investment has been permitted via the
Administrative Regulations on Foreign investment in the Road
Transportation Sector (prom. Nov. 20, 2001). Post-WTO
accession has witnessed many new regulations introducing
foreign investment . the Regulations on International Marine
Transportation (prom. Dec. 11, 2002) which provide, inter alia,
for foreign investment in joint ventures for undertaking
international marine transportation, international shipping
agency enterprises, the administration of international marine
transportation, the loading and unloading of international
maritime freight and cargo, and the establishment of WFOEs for
undertaking the warehousing of international marine
transportation cargo.
