A legal system shall be established to handle foreign-related appeals. The “Rules for Handling Foreign Related Appeals and Complaints in Shandong Province” will be worked out so as to define the duty and responsibility of the offices entitled to handle foreign related appeals and complaints, as well as principles, procedures, time limitation and the responsibility of supervision for handling such cases. By doing so, such cases shall be handled in a standardized, systematic and legalized way. On the basis of the establishment of the 13 centers for the handling of foreign-related appeals and complaints in the province, in line with the requirements of the “Shandong Provincial Outlines on the Measures for All-round Carrying out the Strategy of the Internationalization of its Economy After China’s Accession to the WTO,” more such centers shall be established in many other cities so as to set up a network, by which, all the appeals and complaints shall be accepted, and all cases shall be properly handled.

A good environment for service shall be developed and the system of examination and approval shall be further reformed. According to the relevant state laws and regulations, the procedure of examination and approval for the establishment of a foreign-invested enterprise shall be improved, including simplifying the procedure of the preliminary examination and approval and shortening the time of examination and approval. The reports of feasible study of those projects as encouraged and allowed by the government and the relative contracts, constitutions of enterprises shall be examined and approved by foreign trade and economic cooperation department at one shot. The province shall further perfect the coordinated process of various services so as to finish the formalities of examination and approval at one spot. Projects invested by foreign transnational corporations, in particular, shall go through a green channel with responsible officials taking care of the whole process so as to raise the efficiency of examination and approval. The province will further open its administration to the public, and make it clear about the duty and responsibility of the officials and the limit of time for handling. A chief leader shall be responsible for foreign-invested projects and seeing the promise of service kept.

The system that local officials hold sincere talks with overseas businessmen shall be established. Each city shall collect a group of key foreign-invested enterprises as the major participants of such meetings. By talking with them, the local governments may get to know and help solve their concrete problems in production, daily life, and security, making overseas investors feel at home in Shandong.

More intelligent people shall be absorbed so as to create an ideal human resource environment for overseas investors. The province encourages its city governments to work out preferential policies for returned students and specialized personnel in commerce and business operation on housing, scientific research, salaries, and schooling of children in light of their conditions, so as to help foreign-invested enterprise recruit talents.

Land-use policy for foreign-invested enterprises:

1. Forms of acquiring land-use right:

1) The system of acquiring the land-use right of state-owned land by payment shall be instituted. The forms include auction, bidding, and negotiation.

2) The land to be used for development of such projects as infrastructure constructions, public well-beings, energy, transportation, and water conservancy, shall be provided in the form of allotment.

3) The land to be used for development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery shall be provided in the form of lease.

4) The land to be used for a project to develop industry, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery by a foreign investor in cooperation with a collectively owned enterprise in a township or village, upon approval, shall be supplied by the collectively owned enterprise as part of its investment in the cooperative project.

5) A shareholding enterprise listed abroad may acquire the use-right of land through any of the following forms: obtaining assignment from the state, taking it as the Chinese investment in the form of stocks, or leasing.

2. The limitation of years for a land-use right is as follows:

That for residence is 70 years; for an industrial project, 50 years; for

educational, scientific and technological, cultural, medical or sports projects, 50 years; for commercial, tourism and entertainment facilities, 40 years; and for a comprehensive or other purposes, 50 years.

3. Preferential policy on the development of a large area of land

1) A large area of land to be developed and operated by foreign investors, which has been turned to be a land ready for constructions with leveled ground and completed facilities for water, power, transport and other utilities, and the projects to be set up will be involved in such industries as energy, transportation, harbor and other social well-fair facilities, shall be offered a favorable rate for the land-use right according to the designated price of the land.

As soon as conditions on the land are ready for industrial uses, the investor shall be allowed to transfer the use-right of the land.

2) Foreign investors shall be allowed to build public facilities and installations for production and daily life, such as power station, thermo power plant, and water factory, either to operate them by themselves or to turn them over to the relevant local enterprises for operation. In case those public facilities have capacities more than that for the enterprise’s own use, the investor may get in touch and sign an contract with the local authorities so as to make the said facilities connected to and operated through a network in line with relevant state regulations.

4. Preferential policy on the land-use right for export-oriented and technologically advanced enterprises

1) The charge of land-use right for export-oriented or technologically advanced enterprise, while putting the fees for the development and use of the land together, shall be 5-20 yuan per square meter a year. For those who have paid their development fee once for all or who have done the development all by themselves, the charge for using the land shall be of at most 3 yuan per square meter a year. Those technologically advanced enterprises shall be exempt from the charge for land-use for a period of five years upon approval. Enterprises whose export output value accounts for 60 percent or more of its total in a year shall be exempt from the and-use charge for a period of five years. For the infrastructure constructions of a foreign-invested enterprise, only the construction cost for the increased capacity of the project shall be charged.

2) Export-oriented enterprises and technologically advanced enterprises to be set up by investors from Taiwan shall be exempt from the land-use charge for 10 years beginning from the first year they set in.

5. Preferential policy on other land users

1) Foreign investors who are engaged in the development and construction of large infrastructure projects such as power and transportation, shall be supplied a certain area of land by city government according to their intent to develop the real estate and property industry and the fees for leasing and using the land shall be paid with a deduction or exempt.

2) The land to be developed for construction shall be exempt from land-use fee. The land has been developed for construction shall be allowed exemption or reduction from the land-use payment.

3) When the actual investment of an enterprise accounts for more than 25 percent of the total of the infrastructure cost, the enterprise shall be allowed to sell its products or housing in advance.

4) The user who has paid for the right to use the land shall be allowed to transfer (including selling, exchanging and giving as a gift), lease, mortgage, or use it for other economic activities according to law within the limitation of contracted time.

5) A user who acquires the land-use right according to law for developing real estate shall be allowed to have the land evaluated and use it as a share of stocks, to build a joint venture, or to run real estate business cooperatively in accordance with relevant law and regulations.

6) Land used for the development and operation of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery or the reclamation of wild mountains and wasteland shall be allowed exemption or reduction from and delay of the payments for the land-use fee or lease.