Article 13　The applicant shall, upon the approval of establishment from the Ministry of Health, apply to the MOFTEC in accordance with the relevant laws and administrative regulations, and submit the following materials thereto:

1. materials submitted on the application for the establishment of the medical institution and the approval documents;

2. the contract and articles of association of the Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution signed by the legal representatives or their authorized representatives of the Chinese and foreign parties thereto;

3. a name list of the members of the board of directors of the proposed Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution and the letters of appointment of the members of the board of directors from the Chinese and foreign parties thereto;

4. the notification letter on the advance approval of the name of the medical institution issued by the relevant department of administration for industry and commerce; and

5. other materials prescribed by the relevant laws, administrative regulations and the MOFTEC.

The MOFTEC shall, within 45 working days as of the date of acceptance of the application, make a written decision on whether to approve or disapprove the application. Once an application is approved, the Approval Certificate for Enterprises with Foreign Investment shall be issued to the applicant.

The establishment of a Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution which has been approved shall, within one month as of the date of receipt of the Approval Certificate for Enterprises with Foreign Investment issued by the MOFTEC, go through the registration formalities in the relevant state administrative department for industry and commerce by presenting the approval certificate.

Article 14　The conditions on the establishment of Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions as contained in Articles 7 and 8 of the Measures may be appropriately eased with regard to the establishment of Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions in the central and western regions of China or in the areas that were liberated early during the Chinese revolution, areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, border areas and poor areas of the country, if the scope and contents of the medical services to be provided by the proposed Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions conform to the medical services of those areas the state encourages.

Article 15　The establishment of a Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution which has been approved shall, in accordance with the provisions on the procedures and requirements concerning the practice registration of medical institutions as contained in the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions and the Implementation Rules for the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions, apply for practice registration at the administrative department of health designated by the administrative department of health at the provincial level to obtain the Practice Permit for Medical Institutions.

The administrative departments of health at the provincial level shall, on the basis of the category and size of Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions, determine whether the applications for practice registration of Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be accepted by the administrative departments of health at the provincial level or by municipal (cities at the prefecture level) administrative departments of health.

Article 16　The naming of Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be guided by the provisions of the Rules of Implementation for the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions. The name of a Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution shall consist of the name of the place where it is located, its title for identification and its general name in that order.

Article 17　No Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution shall be allowed to set up subsidiaries or branches.

Chapter IV　Changes, Extension and Termination

Article 18　If a Chinese-foreign medical institution already established needs to alter the scale (number of hospital beds and dentist chairs), subjects and items of consultation or the term of joint venture or cooperation, it shall, in accordance with the procedures of examination and approval as prescribed in the provisions of Chapter III of the Measures, go through the corresponding formalities for the registration thereof at the original registration department.

Any changes of the contents of contracts and articles of association of Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be referred by the local departments of foreign trade and economic cooperation to the MOFTEC for approval.

Article 19　Where the 20-year period of joint venture or cooperation of a Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution is going to be expired and there is the need for an extension due to special circumstances, the parties to the Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution may apply for an extension thereof, they shall submit an application for extending the period of joint venture or cooperation 90 days before the end of the period of joint venture or cooperation. The application for an extension shall, upon the consent of the provincial administrative department of health and the provincial department of foreign trade and economic cooperation after examination, be submitted to the Ministry of Health and the MOFTEC for examination and approval. The examining and approving department shall, within 45 working days as of the date of receipt of the application, issue a written decision on whether to approve or disapprove the application for extension.

Article 20　The Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions whose establishment have been approved shall go through all the relevant registration procedures within the given time limit prescribed by the examining and approving departments; the joint venture project shall, upon approval of the examining and approving department, be cancelled if a Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution fails to complete the registration procedures within the given time limit.

Chapter V Practice

Article 21　A Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution shall, as an independent legal person entity, be responsible for its own profits and losses, and exercise independent accounting and bear its own civil liabilities independently.

Article 22　A Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution shall implement the provisions pertaining to the practice of medical institutions as contained in the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions and the Rules of Implementation for the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions.

Article 23　Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall abide by the norms for access to medical technologies and norms for clinical diagnostic and medical treatment, and implement the relevant provisions concerning clinical application of new technologies, new equipment and huge-sized medical equipment.

Article 24　Medical accidents that occur in Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be handled according to the pertinent state laws and administrative regulations.

Article 25　The employment of foreign doctors and nurses by Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions in the Law of the People's Republic of China on Medical Practitioners and the Measures of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of Nurses.

Article 26　The Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions and their medical and technical personnel shall obey the assignments from the administrative departments of health when major disasters, accidents, the eruption of epidemics or other unexpected circumstances have taken place.

Article 27　Advertisements to be released by Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be handled in accordance with the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China and the Measures for the Administration of Medical Advertisements.

Article 28　The rates for the charges on the medical services provided by Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be governed by the relevant state provisions.

Article 29　The tax policy for the Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be based on the relevant state provisions.

Chapter VI　Supervision

Article 30　The local administrative departments of health at or above the county level shall be responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions in their respective administrative areas.

The Practice Permit of Medical Institutions of Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be subjected to annual inspections and be verified by the registration departments of the Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions.

Article 31　Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be subject to the supervision of the relevant departments of the state in accordance with the pertinent state provisions on enterprises with foreign investment.

Article 32　Violations of the pertinent laws, administrative regulations and rules by Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions shall be investigated and dealt with by the competent departments according to law. Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions that violate the Measures may be punished by the administrative departments of health and departments of foreign trade and economic cooperation at or above the county level in accordance with the relevant laws, administrative regulations and rules.

Article 33　Where any local administrative departments of health and local administrative departments of foreign trade and economic cooperation approves without authorization, in contravention of the provisions of the Measures, the establishment or changes of Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institutions, responsibilities shall be pursued against those are in charge thereof.

Where parties to a Chinese-foreign joint venture or cooperative medical institution which , in the absence of approval from the Ministry of Health and the MOFTEC, establish the institution and conduct medical activities or operate subjects and items of consultation by way of a contract, it shall be regarded as illegal medical practice and the parties shall be penalized in accordance with the pertinent provisions as contained in the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions and the Rules of Implementation for the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions.

Chapter VII　Supplementary Provisions

Article 34　The joint venture or cooperative medical institutions set up in the mainland by investors from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Taiwan region shall be governed with reference to the Measures.

Article 35　Applications for the establishment of medical institutions with wholly foreign investment within the territory of China shall not be approved.

Article 36　The administrative departments of health and the administrative departments of foreign trade and economic cooperation of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may draw up specific provisions in accordance with the Measures and in light of the actual local conditions of their respective administrative regions.

Article 37　The Measures shall be interpreted by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Article 38　These Measure will come into in force as of July 1, 2000. Document Wei Yi Zi (89) No. 3 released on February 10, 1989 and Document Wei Jing Mao Fa (1997) No. 292 released on April 30, 1997 will be repealed simultaneously.

The article is originated from beijing.gov.cn, updated on September 11, 2019. This English version is only for reference. To learn more, please refer to the authoritative Chinese version.