Shanghai issued four laws for Pudong New Area last year, with the pioneering legislation as a brave attempt to reform and innovate in the “deep water zone”.
In 2024, the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress passed four Pudong New Area regulations focusing on bonded maintenance, commercial mediation, architect responsibility system, and blockchain-enabled electronic document applications. All these regulations are pioneering in nature. Currently, the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress has formulated a total of 22 Pudong New Area regulations.
In Shanghai’s local legislative practice, Pudong New Area regulations are a new form of legislation. With the authorization of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in 2021, the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress began to use this innovative legislation to provide legal protection for bold experimentation, exploration, and autonomous reforms in Pudong New Area.
According to the authorization decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Pudong New Area regulations are distinguished from general local regulations of Shanghai, and can make flexible provisions on laws, administrative regulations, and departmental rules. Their scope of implementation is limited to Pudong New Area. As a “legislative test field”, Shanghai is responsible for finding a new way for legislation to lead and promote reform and innovation. Therefore, Pudong New Area regulations have attracted much attention since their birth.
In the early part of 2025, the reporters from The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) noticed that four Pudong New Area regulations were promulgated in 2024. These regulations are typically short and exhibit a distinct “small, fast, and flexible” characteristic. They are focused on areas of reform and innovation, aiming to break through bottleneck issues encountered in the construction of Pudong as a leading district. They also ensure that Pudong’s pioneering reforms, leading openness, and pioneering innovation are legally justified, using legislation to lead and promote the reform process.
The first local regulation specifically regulating blockchain-enabled electronic document applications:
On December 31, 2024, the 16th Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress passed the “Shanghai Municipality若干 Provisions on Promoting the Application of Blockchain in Electronic Document Use in Pudong New Area” (hereinafter referred to as the “若干 Provisions”), which is the first local regulation in China specifically regulating blockchain-enabled electronic document applications and providing pioneering support and protection for electronic document rights and interests. It will be implemented from January 1, 2025.
The若干Provisions respond to the legal validity of electronic documents from the perspective of rights protection, explicitly safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of natural persons, legal persons, and unincorporated organizations in activities such as electronic document issuance, transfer, modification, conversion, storage, etc., thereby eliminating business entities’ concerns about risks in using electronic documents in market transactions.
To build a blockchain infrastructure that is standardized, secure and trustworthy and meets the needs of different application scenarios for electronic documents, the若干Provisions clarify the construction of an open and scalable blockchain infrastructure based on open-source blockchain underlying technology to achieve data privacy protection, reliable circulation, and shared use. At the same time, it is stipulated that network security protection standards should be followed for design, classification, construction, management, and legal registration procedures.
The first local regulation specifically regulating bonded maintenance:
On November 28, 2024, the 16th Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress passed the “Shanghai Municipality若干 Provisions on Promoting the Development of Bonded Maintenance Business in Pudong New Area” (hereinafter referred to as the “若干Provisions”), which will be implemented from January 1, 2025. This is the first local regulation specifically regulating bonded maintenance.
As a new foreign trade industry, bonded maintenance deeply integrates manufacturing and service industries with high technical content and added value, playing a significant role in promoting trade transformation and upgrading, extending industrial chains, and cultivating new drivers of foreign trade development. The若干Provisions make flexible expansions based on national provisions on the scope and types of bonded maintenance business. For example, it stipulates that relevant enterprises within special customs supervision areas can carry out business within the scope of the maintenance product catalogue in comprehensive bonded zones and can also pilot “two ends outside” bonded maintenance business outside the catalogue, expanding general bonded zone maintenance policies to all areas under special customs supervision including Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone.
The若干Provisions also stipulate that relevant enterprises in comprehensive bonded areas can carry out specific “two ends outside” bonded maintenance business for four types of medical equipment; enterprises in special supervision areas within free trade pilot zones can carry out “two ends outside” bonded maintenance business for aircraft and other large equipment, as well as pilot other “two ends outside” bonded maintenance businesses; enterprises outside special customs supervision areas and free trade pilot zones can pilot electronic information “two ends outside” bonded maintenance businesses.
The first local regulation specifically regulating commercial mediation:
