Published by ChinaMNC · Li

Accessing Government Information in Sichuan: A 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, based on the official government information disclosure guide.

Why Government Information Matters for Foreign Founders

When setting up or running a company in Sichuan, foreign founders often need official documents and data from the provincial government. The Sichuan Provincial People's Government and its General Office have published a guide explaining how citizens, legal entities, and other organizations can access government information. This article summarizes the key points for foreign founders, focusing on practical steps and rules.

Proactive Disclosure: Information Available Without Request

The government proactively releases certain categories of information to improve transparency and support economic and social activities. This information is published according to the principles of fairness, legality, and convenience. For foreign founders, the proactively disclosed information may be useful for understanding the regulatory environment and business climate.

What Information Is Proactively Disclosed?

According to the guide, the following types of information are proactively disclosed (among others):

Leadership and structure: Provincial government leaders and their divisions of work, the setup and main responsibilities of government agencies, and the government's working rules.
Regulations 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 meetings, and information on leaders' attendance at major official activities.
Planning and statistics: National economic and social development plans, special plans, regional plans and related policies, and statistical information on economic and social development.
Administrative matters: Administrative licensing, administrative penalties, administrative coercion, and other external management and service matters.
Financial information: Fiscal budgets and final accounts, government centralized procurement, and administrative and institutional fees.
Major projects: Approval and implementation status of major construction projects.
Livelihood issues: Policies, measures, and implementation related to poverty alleviation, education, healthcare, social security, and employment promotion; emergency plans, early warnings, and responses to public emergencies; and supervision and inspection of environmental protection, public health, work safety, food and drug safety, and product quality.
Personnel matters: Personnel appointments and removals of the provincial government, and recruitment of civil servants.
Other information: Other government information that laws, regulations, rules, and relevant national provisions require to be proactively disclosed.

Where to Find Proactively Disclosed Information

Proactively disclosed information is available through multiple channels:

The Sichuan Provincial People's Government Gazette;
The Sichuan Provincial People's Government portal website;
Social media accounts such as "Sichuan Release" on Sina Weibo, the "Sichuan Release" WeChat official account, and the "Sichuan Provincial People's Government Website" Toutiao account;
Provincial government press conferences;
Other media such as radio, television, and newspapers.

In addition, government information is also made available at the Sichuan Provincial Government Affairs Service and Public Resource Trading Service Center, the Sichuan Provincial Archives, and the Sichuan Provincial Library. These locations serve as reception and reading venues for government information.

Timing of Proactive Disclosure

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

Requesting Information: The Application Process

If the information you need is not proactively disclosed, you can file a request with the Sichuan Provincial People's Government or its General Office. The following steps and rules apply.

Step 1: Identify the Right Authority

Before submitting a request, determine which government body holds the information. You can visit the Sichuan Provincial People's Government portal website and click on "Institutional Functions" to learn about the main responsibilities and organizational setup of provincial administrative agencies. Then, based on the type of information you need, submit your request to the appropriate agency through its designated channels and according to its specific instructions.

For example:

For information on approval of major construction projects or feasibility study reports, 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 houses on state-owned land or shantytown renovation, apply to the city or county government where the applicant is located or its housing and urban-rural development department.

Step 2: Submit Your Application

The General Office of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government accepts requests submitted in person, by letter, or online. The Office handles requests in accordance with the application process.

In person: The government has set up a reception point at the Provincial Government Affairs Service Center. Applicants can obtain the "Government Information Disclosure Application Form" (hereinafter referred to as the Application Form) on site, fill it out, and submit it in person.
Online: Register as a user on the Sichuan Government Affairs Service Website as prompted. After logging in, submit your application online. Select the application type and enter your information (such as name and ID number) to check the progress of your application.

Step 3: Tips for a Smooth Application

Check proactively disclosed sources first: To obtain information quickly, search the proactive disclosure channels mentioned above before submitting a request. If you cannot find what you need, then submit an application.
Use dedicated channels for other matters: For petitions, complaints, reports, consultations, or suggestions, use dedicated channels such as the Governor's Mailbox, 12345 online message, or disciplinary inspection reporting, rather than the government information disclosure request process.
Complete the Application Form: The Application Form is available at the reception point and can be downloaded from the Sichuan Provincial People's Government portal website. Photocopies are valid. For online applications, you can fill it out directly online.
Provide identification: For in-person applications, present a valid ID. For letter applications, attach a copy of your valid ID. For online applications, register on the Sichuan Government Affairs Service Website and complete identity verification before submitting.
Describe the information clearly: Your description should be specific. It is recommended to provide the name, document number, or other characteristic descriptions that will help the agency locate the information.
Respond to requests for clarification: If your request is unclear, the agency will provide guidance and explanation and will inform you within 7 working days from receipt of your application of the specific information you need to supplement and the reasonable deadline for doing so. If you fail to supplement without justified reason, your application will be deemed abandoned and will not be processed further.

How Applications Are Handled

The agency will respond to your request within 20 working days from receipt, unless it can respond on the spot. If an extension is needed, the head of the government information disclosure work agency must approve it and notify you in writing; the extension may not exceed 20 working days. Time spent seeking opinions from third parties or other agencies is not counted in the processing period. If a supplement is required, the response period starts from the date the supplemented application is received.

If your requests are clearly excessive in number or frequency, the agency may ask you to justify them. If the justification is unreasonable, the agency will inform you that it will not process the request. If the justification is reasonable but the agency cannot respond within the period specified in Article 33 of the Regulations, it will determine a reasonable delayed response period and inform you.

Depending on the situation, the agency may:

Provide the information if it can be disclosed;
Inform you that the information is not within its responsibility to disclose, and if possible, provide the name and contact details of the agency responsible;
Inform you that it will not process repeated requests for the same information if it has already responded;
Inform you that for information such as business registration or real estate registration data, you should follow special provisions in relevant laws and administrative regulations.

The agency is not obligated to process or analyze existing government information beyond providing it as stored.

Fees and Legal Remedies

In accordance with Article 42 of the Regulations, the agency charges information processing fees strictly according to the "Measures for the Administration of Information Processing Fees for Government Information Disclosure" (Guobanhan [2020] No. 109) and relevant provincial provisions.

If you believe your lawful rights have been infringed in the government information disclosure process, you may complain or report to the higher-level administrative agency or the competent department for government information disclosure work, or apply for administrative reconsideration or file an administrative lawsuit according to law.

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