Published by ChinaMNC · Pujiang

A Foreign Founder’s Guide to Accessing Sichuan Government Information

Practical guidance for foreign founders on how to obtain government information from the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government and its General Office, including proactive disclosure, application procedures, and response timelines.

Why Government Information Matters for Foreign Founders

When setting up or running a company in Sichuan, foreign founders often need official information—regulations, approvals, policy documents, or details about major projects. The Sichuan Provincial People’s Government and its General Office publish a guide explaining how to access such information. This article summarizes that guide in plain English for foreign entrepreneurs, focusing on practical steps and key rules. It is based solely on the official Chinese guide published on the provincial government website.

What Information Is Proactively Disclosed

The government commits to proactively disclosing information that affects public interests, requires broad public awareness, or needs public participation in decision-making, as well as other information required by law, regulations, and rules. The main categories include:

Leadership and structure: Provincial government leaders and their divisions of work, the setup and main duties of government agencies, and the provincial government’s work rules.
Rules 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: Sichuan’s economic and social development plans, special plans, regional plans, related policies, and economic and social statistics.
Administrative matters: Administrative licensing, penalties, compulsory measures, and other external management and service items.
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.
Key livelihood areas: Policies, measures, and implementation in 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: Provincial government personnel appointments and removals, and civil servant recruitment.
Other information: As required by laws, regulations, rules, and relevant national provisions.

Where to Find Proactively Disclosed Information

The government uses multiple channels to publish information:

The Sichuan Provincial People’s Government Gazette.
The Sichuan Provincial People’s Government portal website.
Social media and news platforms: “Sichuan Release” on Sina Weibo, the “Sichuan Release” WeChat public account, and the “Sichuan Provincial People’s Government Website” Toutiao account.
Provincial government press conferences.
Other media: radio, television, newspapers, and periodicals.

In addition, government information is available at the Sichuan Provincial Government Government Services and Public Resources Trading Service Center, the Sichuan Provincial Archives, and the Sichuan Provincial Library. These locations serve as acceptance and reading venues for government information.

Timing of Proactive Disclosure

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

How to Apply for Information Not Proactively Disclosed

Citizens, legal persons, and other organizations (referred to as applicants) may apply to the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government and its General Office for government information beyond what is proactively disclosed. Foreign founders can use this route when they need specific documents not found online.

Step 1: Identify the Right Agency

To get information quickly and accurately, first determine which agency holds the information. Applicants can visit the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government portal website, click on “Institutional Functions” to learn about the main duties and structure of provincial administrative agencies, and then submit an application to the appropriate agency through its designated channels and according to its specific instructions. For example:

For approval information and feasibility study reports of major construction projects, apply to the development and reform department.
For information related to collective land expropriation, apply to the natural resources department.
For information on house expropriation and compensation on state-owned land and shantytown renovation, apply to the municipal or county-level government where the applicant is located and its housing and urban-rural development department.

Step 2: Submit an Application

The General Office of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government accepts applications submitted in person, by letter, and online. The provincial government information disclosure office handles the specifics. Here is how to submit:

In person: The agency has an acceptance point at the Provincial Government Services Center. Applicants can collect the “Government Information Disclosure Application Form” (the Application Form) on site, fill it out, and submit it in person.
By letter: Send the completed Application Form by mail. A copy of a valid identity document must be attached.
Online: Register a user account on the Sichuan Government Services Network as prompted, log in, and submit an online application. Select the application type and enter your information (such as name and ID number) to check the progress.

Step 3: Fill Out the Application Form Correctly

The Application Form can be obtained at the acceptance point or downloaded from the provincial government portal website. Photocopies are valid. For online applications, fill it out directly online. When applying in person, present a valid identity document; for letter applications, attach a copy of a valid identity document; for online applications, register on the Sichuan Government Services Network and complete identity verification before logging in and submitting.

Describe the requested information clearly and specifically. It is recommended to provide the name, document number, or other characteristic details that will help the agency locate the information.

Step 4: Handle Requests for Correction

If the application content is unclear, the agency will provide guidance and explanation and, within 7 working days of receiving the application, inform the applicant once of the needed corrections, including what to correct and a reasonable correction period. If the corrected application still does not meet requirements or cannot identify specific information, the agency will inform the applicant in writing that the application is unclear and cannot be processed. If the applicant fails to correct without justified reason within the period, the application is deemed abandoned and will not be processed further.

Step 5: Understand How Applications Are Processed

The agency may respond in several ways, including:

If the information can be disclosed, provide it or inform the applicant of the manner, channel, and time to obtain it.
If the information is not held by the agency, inform the applicant and explain why; if the agency responsible can be identified, provide its name and contact details.
If the applicant repeatedly requests the same information after a previous response, inform the applicant that no repeated processing will be done.
If the information is business registration or real estate registration materials and other laws or administrative regulations have special provisions on access, inform the applicant to follow those provisions.

Processing timeline: Except for cases that can be answered on the spot, the agency responds within 20 working days of receiving the application. If an extension is needed, the head of the agency’s information disclosure office must agree 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. For applications requiring correction, the response period starts from the date the corrected application is received. If the number or frequency of requests明显 exceeds a reasonable range, the agency may ask for justification. If the justification is unreasonable, the applicant will be told the application will not be processed; if reasonable but a response within the 20-working-day period is not possible, the agency will set a reasonable delayed response period and inform the applicant.

Step 6: Know the Limits and Costs

The agency provides existing government information as held and is not obliged to process or analyze it, except where the regulations allow severability. The form of provision will be determined based on the applicant’s request and the actual state of the information. If providing information in the requested form could endanger the security of the information carrier or result in excessively high costs, the agency may provide it in electronic data or another appropriate form, or arrange for the applicant to inspect or copy it. Information processing fees are charged in accordance with the relevant national and provincial regulations.

Step 7: Seek Review if Needed

If an applicant believes that an administrative agency has infringed upon their lawful rights in government information disclosure, they may complain or report to the higher-level administrative agency or the competent department for government information disclosure, 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.