Electronic documents are important carriers of shipping and trade digitalization, and also key drivers for its innovative development. To promote the application of electronic documents, the Cyberspace Administration of China, together with the Ministry of Transport and other departments, recently issued the “Regulations on Promoting and Regulating the Application of Electronic Documents” (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”), which will provide a favorable legal environment for the promotion and application of electronic documents, effectively promote the healthy development of China’s shipping and trade digitalization, and seize the discourse power of shipping and trade rules in the digital era.
The “Regulations” are issued at the right time
Currently, China’s shipping and trade digitalization is accelerating, the application of electronic documents is gaining full momentum, and the industrial foundation, institutional guarantees, and technical support are becoming increasingly mature. The issuance of the “Regulations” at this time is an inevitable choice to conform to the development of the times, a key measure to solve industry pain points and empower high-quality development, and will provide a solid guarantee for China’s deep participation in global shipping and trade digital governance.
First, the mature industrial ecosystem has laid a practical foundation for the issuance of the “Regulations”. The application effects in core shipping scenarios are prominent, with breakthroughs in the application of electronic bills of lading and electronic cargo release for maritime containers. From port operations to logistics transportation, from trade transactions to financial services, the digital application of the entire chain is actively promoted, effectively solving industry chronic problems such as slow circulation, high cost, and easy forgery of paper documents for maritime container transportation. Logistics cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement, as well as trade facilitation levels, have been significantly improved. In particular, the digital transformation of the Shanghai International Shipping Center has been advanced in depth, the Yangtze River Shipping Data Center has been built and put into operation, achieving data link connectivity among ports, ships, cargo, and enterprises; relying on the MaaS (International Container Transport Service Platform), the coverage rate of electronic documents at ports has increased to over 98%, and the visualization tracking rate of the entire logistics process has exceeded 95%. Achievements such as Shanghai’s bulk commodity digital reform, Chongqing’s “single document system” digital bill of lading, and the “Silk Road Cloud Chain” international certification are fruitful, and an open and inclusive industrial ecosystem has initially taken shape.
Second, the legal system is increasingly perfect, providing a higher-level legal basis for the issuance of the “Regulations”. The newly revised Maritime Law came into effect on May 1 this year, clarifying the legal status and main applicable rules of electronic transport records. The newly revised Foreign Trade Law came into effect on March 1 this year, systematically establishing the digital trade development and governance framework in legal form for the first time, clearly supporting the use of electronic bills of lading and electronic invoices, and promoting international mutual recognition of digital certificates and electronic signatures.
Third, the accelerated implementation of technological innovation applications has strengthened technical support for the issuance of the “Regulations”. Technologies such as blockchain, big data, and electronic signatures provide reliable support and deep empowerment, and have been fully verified in different application scenarios. For example, China’s shipping and trade blockchain network supports the establishment of a trusted data circulation system for domestic bulk commodity trade; the digital reform of bulk commodity trade promoted by Shanghai has achieved multi-departmental trusted collaboration in aspects such as warehouse receipt registration, trading, financing, and invoice allocation.
Adhering to a problem-oriented approach? Balancing regulation, safety, and promoting innovation
The promotion and application of electronic documents involve key issues such as adjustment of legal relationships, unification of standards, process reengineering, ecosystem construction, and changes in traditional industry concepts, and also face a series of challenges in practice. The “Regulations” adhere to the principle of balancing regulation, safety, and promoting innovation, systematically and specifically solving the difficulties and challenges currently faced in the application of electronic documents, creating a favorable environment for the comprehensive promotion and application of electronic documents.
First, addressing issues such as inconsistent legal validity, difficulty in cross-border mutual recognition, and the “dual-track system” of paper and digital, the “Regulations” define for the first time at the departmental regulation level core documents such as electronic bills of lading and warehouse receipts, as well as various participating entities, clarifying the boundaries of rights and responsibilities, and enhancing the operability and standardization of electronic document applications.
Second, addressing issues such as the existence of information silos, insufficiently unified data standards, and difficulty in interaction between “chains”, the “Regulations” clarify that the national cyberspace administration will take the lead, with more than ten departments including industry and information technology, transport, commerce, customs, and finance strengthening policy coordination, promoting and regulating the application of electronic documents according to their respective responsibilities, which is conducive to breaking down information silos and regulatory barriers, forming a joint force.
Third, addressing risks brought by the contradiction between traditional work habits and process reengineering, and unclear division of rights and responsibilities, the “Regulations” explicitly encourage enterprises to strengthen technological innovation and collaboration, recognize and use electronic documents when conducting business, and reasonably divide rights and responsibilities. This will effectively expand the application scenarios of electronic documents, continuously improve the digital level of business applications, and promote the large-scale promotion of electronic documents.
Implementing the requirements of the “Regulations”? Promoting high-quality development of shipping and trade digitalization
The issuance of the “Regulations” injects new momentum into the high-quality development of shipping and trade digitalization, and is of great significance for promoting the facilitation and security resilience of shipping and trade, cultivating new business forms in shipping and trade, and reducing logistics costs for the whole society. In the next step, the industry should take the implementation of the “Regulations” as an opportunity to strengthen digital empowerment, innovate institutional mechanisms, gather resource elements, expand and enrich application scenarios, and accelerate the high-quality development of shipping and trade digitalization.
First, strengthen the construction of digital infrastructure. Relying on technologies such as blockchain, big data, and AI, continue to promote the construction of shipping and trade digital infrastructure, promote transparency and visualization of data across the entire chain, and improve the level of port customs clearance facilitation and regional coordination efficiency. Relying on the construction of shipping and trade digital platforms, build a trusted data space for transportation and logistics, establish and improve data security management systems and technical protection systems, accelerate the access of diverse data from ports, shipping, and trade, improve data sharing mechanisms, and strengthen high-quality data supply.
Second, expand scenario innovation applications. Focus on areas such as logistics supply chain, shipping trade, financial insurance, and government services, to promote the expansion, quality improvement, and volume increase of shipping and trade digitalization. Deeply promote the application of electronic bills of lading, electronic cargo release, and electronic letter of credit issuance at major ports, promote the linkage model of “electronic bill of lading + electronic cargo release”, and increase the proportion of paperless exchange of documents for imports. Accelerate expansion from containers to scenarios such as bulk cargo and ro-ro cargo transportation. Promote the application of electronic documents such as electronic bills of lading and electronic waybills in the entire chain of multimodal transport, accelerate the implementation of “single document system”, “single container system”, and “single ticket system”, and achieve smooth circulation of cargo transport logistics documents. Actively promote the construction of international shipping digital corridors, focus on electronic bills of lading and electronic letter of credit issuance to promote international mutual recognition of electronic documents, and promote the establishment of a multi-country mutually recognized shipping and trade digital electronic document system.
Third, strengthen technological innovation and R&D. Promote the R&D and application of emerging technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things in the port, shipping, and trade fields. Encourage enterprises to increase R&D investment, deepen industry-university-research collaborative cooperation with universities and research institutions, R&D and apply digital service products for ports, shipping, and trade such as electronic documents, and promote the construction of blockchain-based port, shipping, and trade digital networks. Strengthen the cultivation of composite talents who understand both port, shipping, and trade business and master digital technology.
Fourth, accelerate the improvement of electronic document standards. Focus on improving standards related to electronic documents, and promote the formulation and revision of shipping and trade digitalization standards. Unify data standards and specifications, and promote data interconnection and intercommunication among port, shipping, and trade enterprises. Strengthen international standardization cooperation, and promote the formulation of international standards for electronic documents.
Fifth, create a favorable environment. Promote technical cooperation and achievement transformation, strongly support the circulation of electronic documents, and promote cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement in transportation and logistics. Actively promote the construction of distributed collaborative data chains in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, achieve data interconnection and intercommunication for multimodal transport, and empower port, shipping, and trade business collaboration. Strengthen business collaboration and data sharing between government departments, between enterprises, and between government and enterprises, and promote the in-depth and practical application of electronic documents.
