MOFCOM's 2012 export-order circular established a licence requirement for Chinese automobile and motorcycle exports, gated on manufacturer eligibility (after-sales network depth, authorised-distributor status) rather than volume or destination. Each year MOFCOM issues a declaration-cycle notice opening the application window and setting deadlines for the following year's licences; sector-specific carve-outs (e.g. the 2025 pure-EV licence requirement under Announcement No. 54) extend the same framework to newly designated product categories.
What it includes
- 2025-09-26 MOFCOM Announcement No. 54: extends the licence-management
framework to pure electric passenger vehicles (HS 8703801090) from 1 January 2026.
- 2026-09-29 Trade Letter [2026] No. 404: opens the 2027 declaration cycle for
conventional automobile and motorcycle exports, adding a new "Overseas Compliance Management Commitment Letter" pricing-discipline pledge to the eligibility gate.
Why this regime matters
The licence-eligibility gate is a standing lever MOFCOM can tighten without new legislation: each annual declaration notice can add documentation or compliance requirements (as the 2026 pricing-commitment letter does) that raise the bar for smaller or non-compliant exporters without changing the headline licensing law.