Chapter III Project Approval 

Article 12 Foreign-invested projects that are going to apply for approval by the investment departments of the People's Government of the autonomous region shall submit three application reports. The report shall include the following contents: 

(1) Situation of the project and the investors;

(2) Analysis of resource utilization and ecological environment impact;

(3) Analysis of economic and social impact. 

The application report for acquisition of a domestic enterprise by a foreign investor shall include the circumstances of the merger and acquisition, merger and acquisition arrangements, financing options and the status of the acquired side, the mode of operation, scope and equity structure after acquisition, and the utilization for the income obtained. 

Article 13 Application report shall include the following documents:

(1) Certificates of enterprise registration of Chinese and foreign investors, and the latest audited financial statements of the enterprise (including assets liabilities sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement), and proof of credit issued by the bank where the investor opened the account;

(2) Letter of Intent for Investment, Resolution of the Board of Directors of the capital increase and merger and acquisition projects;

(3) Written proposal of site selection issued by the administrative department of urban and rural planning (only refers to the project of providing State-owned land use rights by means of allocation);

(4) The construction project for the pre-trial opinions issued by the administrative department of land and resources (new land is not involved, the project to be rebuilt or expanded within the approved construction land may not have been pre-qualified for use)

(5) Environmental impact assessment approval documents issued by the administrative department of environmental protection;

(6) Energy conservation review opinions issued by the energy conservation review authority;

(7) The confirmation documents where the State-owned assets have invested issued by relevant competent authorities shall be submitted.

(8) Other documents that should be submitted in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations. 

Article 14 Projects approved by the autonomous region shall be submitted by the applicant to the investment department of the local government where the project is located, and shall be submitted to the investment department of the autonomous region for approval. The enterprises managed by the autonomous region may directly submit the application report to the investment department of the autonomous region's government, and attach the initial review opinions of the investment department of the local government where the project is located.

Projects approved by the state shall be submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission for approval after being reviewed by the investment department of the government of the autonomous region; the projects planned by the enterprise group and the centrally administered enterprise within the autonomous region may directly submit application report to the National Development and Reform Commission, and attach the opinions of the investment department of the autonomous regional government. 

Article 15 If the application materials are incomplete or do not meet relevant requirements, the project approval authority shall inform the applicant to supplement the materials at one time within 5 working days.

Article 16 For projects involving the functions of the competent departments of relevant industries, the project approval authority shall invite relevant authorities to issue written review opinions within 7 working days. If the authorities fail to provide written review opinions within the time limit, they shall be deemed to have agreed. 

Article 17 The project approval authority shall, within 4 working days from the date of accepting the application report, entrust a qualified consulting institution to conduct evaluation and demonstration on the key issues that need to be evaluated and demonstrated, and the consulting agency that accepts the entrustment shall present an assessment report within the prescribed time. 

For projects that may have a significant impact on the public interest, the project approval authority shall take appropriate measures to solicit public opinions when conducting the approval. For particularly important projects, an expert review system can be implemented. 

Article 18 The project approval authority shall, within 20 working days from the date of accepting the application, complete the approval of the application report. In the case it is not, 10 more working days shall be approved by the head of the department, and reasons for the extension of the time limit shall be informed to the applicant. 

The time required for the approval of the evaluation and the evaluation of the experts shall not be counted in the approval period specified in the preceding paragraph. 

Article 19 Requirements for the approval of foreign-invested projects:

(1) The project shall comply with national laws and regulations, the Catalogue, and the Catalogue of Advantageous Industries for Foreign Investment in the Central and Western Regions;

(2) The project shall comply with development planning, industrial policies and access standards;

(3) Rationally develops and effectively utilizes resources;

(4) It does not affect national security and ecological security;

(5) It does not have a material adverse effect on the public interest;

(6) It shall comply with relevant provisions of state capital project management and foreign debt management.