China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday issued its first e-Apostille Certificate to a batch of automobiles to be exported to Saudi Arabia, which functions as an electronic "passport" of the exported products' Certificate of Origin.
Issuance of the electronic Apostille Certificate is part of a pilot program launched Wednesday by the foreign ministry that is aimed at facilitating cross-border personnel exchange and international economic and trade cooperation.
The Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents entered into force in China in November 2023. And from then on, the official documents sent between China and other contracting countries for use required only an Apostille Certificate issued by the countries they come from, while consular authentication was no longer required.
The new online service has helped enterprises to save a lot of time in document affairs as they can apply for an Apostille Certificate online and don't need to submit paper documents, said Dai Hongkai, manager of the overseas business department of the auto company.
"Our staff can directly submit the application in the system and once the application is approved, we can print it out. This means we no longer need to submit paper documents to various departments. As we have export business, if we spend less time in handling documents for customs clearance, our vehicles will be less likely to be held up at the destination port, and local dealers don't need to pay the related fees. So, the pilot program helps to raise the satisfaction rate of our dealers, and facilitates our export business," said Dai.
The Apostille Certificate serves as the "passport" for public documents to go abroad, so their holders can use them directly in the Convention's contracting countries, said Du Jitao, director of the authentication division of the foreign ministry's Department of Consular Affairs.
"Just like when citizens want to travel abroad, they need to have a passport and a visa, certificates like driver's license and academic certificate also need a passport and a visa to be used abroad. Since China signed the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents in 2023, the embassies and consulates of China and over 120 contracting countries have mutually abolished consular authentication. This means the documents don't need a 'visa' when being used in the contracting countries, but a 'passport' is still required and that is the Apostille Certificate," said Du.
Currently, the foreign ministry is working with related government departments to explore how to issue the e-Apostille Certificate across a wider range of fields through data sharing. The expanded pilot program is expected to include more kinds of certificates issued in the Chinese mainland.
"First, we will continue to enhance the security and convenience of consular authentication through data empowerment. Second, we will work to reach more bilateral or multilateral arrangements on mutual exemption from authentication, so that the driver's license, academic certificate, and other public documents issued in the Chinese mainland can be used in the contracting countries without going through any required authentication procedures. These efforts will help ensure that Chinese and foreign citizens and enterprises have smoother and easier experience in cross-border document circulation service," said Du.
Currently, the Convention has 126 contracting countries, including China's major trading partners like the United States, Japan, Australia, and Russia, and most of the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
China launches pilot program to issue electronic "passport" for public documents
