VI. Support will be given to businesses in adjusting their plans for overseas trade Show participation. 

During the prevention and control period in Shanghai, enterprises that have already paid booth fees but won't be able to attend will continue to be eligible for Shanghai's supporting policies for businesses attending overseas trade shows. Exhibitors that are unable to attend overseas trade shows due to the epidemic will be assisted in reconciling with domestic and international organizers on issues such as prepaid fees. (Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau, Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai)

VII. Support will be given to businesses to enhance their presence in the international market.

Enterprises will be supported to actively utilize cross-border e-commerce platforms to extend their reach in the international market and expand their scale of sourcing worldwide. We will play to the strength of enterprises accredited as Public Service Platforms for International Marketing and forge longer trade supply chains. Enterprises will also be encouraged to fully utilize the online platform of the China Import and Export Fair and will be guided to adjust their promotional events as well as maintain and enlarge international client base and sales channels. (Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau, Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai)  

VIII. The cross-border financial settlement services will be optimized.

International trade companies that import epidemic prevention and control supplies are applicable to measures for extraordinary cases, which entails a marking of "Epidemic Prevention and Control" by local banks as well as streamlined procedures for purchasing and payment of foreign exchanges. Applicants for the registration of Company Name List for Foreign Exchange Account Balance for Trade, after being registered as International Trade Operators, can access the ASOne platform for online registration which will be completed in one working day with no physical presence needed. For domestic receiver institutions without foreign exchange accounts for donation, there is no need to open a new one for the reception of epidemic-related funding donation in foreign exchanges form from home and abroad. Cross-border financing activities pertaining to epidemic prevention and control will be facilitated. International trade companies are allowed to handle their foreign exchange-related businesses under capital account online with streamlined procedures. Other special epidemic-linked foreign exchange businesses can be handled by Shanghai's banks first with Ex-post case filing. (State Administration of Foreign Exchange Shanghai Bureau)

IX. Paperless filing for import and export permits will be implemented.

Enterprises will be actively guided and encouraged to apply for Import and Export Permit online. For contracts with excessive contents and constituting big files, enterprises are allowed to only upload key pages pertinent to the permit application. There will be more authorizations for the sign-off and printing of ECO. (Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai) 

X. Functions of the China (Shanghai) International Trade Single Window will be optimized. 

The China (Shanghai) International Trade Single Window just launched a new interface to process, with higher efficiency, the clearance for overseas donations . For imported disinfection products, a new function that allows filing for health and safety assessment report will be implemented in the system. A special service window will be opened exclusively for the SMEs, allowing them to process all the import and export-related businesses such as clearance, logistics and finance without physical presence. With the panoramic data of international trade chain collected through the system, it will be more convenient for the banks and insurers to conduct background checks on trade, thus making loans more accessible to the enterprises with green access services being provided, such as concessional loans, cross-border money transfer and financing. The online services for credit insurance will be enhanced. SMEs with under USD 5 million export volume in the previous year can login on the China (Shanghai) International Trade Single Window to process businesses such as policy purchasing, policy renewal and conversion, claim as well as financing. (Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation Shanghai Branch)  

XI. There will be enhanced accessibility of overseas legal assistance and counseling.

Timely counseling, guidance and mediation services will be offered to companies involved in disputes caused by the epidemic over contract implementation, labor and financial matters. Arbitration institutions and judicial authentication institutions are encouraged to give priority to the expedited handling of cases that involve companies seriously affected by the epidemic. The notary agencies shall give priority to requests that are related to the epidemic and reduce/exempt notary fees for key enterprises for the prevention and control of the epidemic. For trade contract disputes, companies in question will be supported to request proof from trade promotion agencies and national industry associations. The litigants and agents in international trade disputes are encouraged to file application for adjudication and mediation through mail and online channels. Enterprises are also encouraged to carry out legal and compliance risk assessments on international trade. The tracking of international trade policies and legal practices will be intensified with periodic releases of relevant information and issuance of risk alert through public platforms.   

Shanghai will continue to implement all the supporting policies made by the central government. The line departments and agencies are responsible for making detailed implementation plans for each policy measure, which will be enforced by district governments. The validity period of this policy extends from the date of issuance to December 31st 2020. (In case of clearly specified validity periods for particular provisions which are different from the aforementioned time span, the specified validity periods shall prevail) 

Disclaimer:

This is a translated version of <Policy Measures to Support the Steady Development of Foreign Trade Companies in Response to COVID-19>

The power of interpreting any provision in this text is entirely vested in the competent departments of Shanghai Municipal People's Government and relevant organizations.

Should there be any discrepancy of meaning between the Original Chinese Text and the English Text, the Chinese version shall prevail.