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In China, there has been a great deal of rules and regulations with regards to the administrative examination, permission as well as the compliance of printing sensitive contents. Companies who manufacture in China factories, should pay special attention to the importance of following the necessary procedures, which may not be a standardized part of your own countries' requirements.

Recently, Chinese government has strengthened the supervision and administration of printing and publication activities. Laws and administrative regulations stipulate any domestic enterprise taking orders for printing overseas publications should apply to the government administrative departments for a printing permit. If any product involves sensitive contents as detailed below, it should go through the formalities of special examination and approval by the government administrative departments.

In summary, sensitive contents include:
• Maps (e.g. world maps, historical maps, promotion maps of current issues, city maps, street maps, etc.)
• Pornographic component
• Violent component
• Religions
• Other sensitive contents (e.g. contents that involve the history of Tibet or Sinkiang, audio-visual products, etc.)

Application documents for the permit for printing include:
• Authorization letter from the overseas entrusting party
• Written contract for both parties and
• Certificate of authorization by the copyright owner

After receipt of the complete application, the government administrative departments will carry out and finish special examination of the sensitive contents within the statutory time as follows. The permit for printing will then be issued for the successful application only. This is the additional time required on top of your expected schedule, as the bulk can be starting for production only after the permit is issued.

We hope this provides a basic guideline to help give you a clearer picture and better understanding of whether any of your products may involve the aforementioned sensitive contents under the definition of the printing rules and regulations in China, and the necessary procedures to follow. It may be useful for your overall planning in terms of ordering, scheduling and lead-time involved.

So far we are working well with existing clients whose products include sensitive contents to ensure the compliance of printing rules and regulations in China. In other words, there is indeed no extra workload and no direct effect on these clients who have been already following the current practice, as this is not new to both of us.

We shall continue to coordinate with the related Chinese government departments closely for any additional update in the meantime and keep you informed. Or check with our sales representatives for more details, if needed.