State Council Cancels Batch of Occupational Qualification Licensing Items

China will cancel the licensing and accreditation requirements of a batch of occupational qualifications in a bid to unleash entrepreneurship and innovation. It will also draw up policies to ensure stable growth of imports and exports to enhance the momentum in enlarging the country’s opening up.

The pledge was made at a recent executive meeting of the State Council.

The meeting decided that occupational licences will not be required in 62 categories, including web advertising agents, registered electronic trading specialists, foreign trade personnel and port stevedores, in addition to the 149 categories already cancelled since last year.

More efforts will be made to ensure that all unnecessary occupational licences will be cancelled, the meeting decided. Access-type occupational qualifications required by departments under the State Council without legal basis and evaluation-type occupational qualifications required by government departments, national industry associations and academic societies will be cancelled. Those with legal basis but do not concern national security, public safety and citizens’ personal and property security will be cancelled after the relevant laws and regulations are revised. A list of all the occupational licences issued by the government will be made public. Any accreditation beyond the list will not be allowed. On the other hand, a scientific national occupational qualifications system will be established to promote various kinds of talents and to enhance the quality of labour and work in even more industries and job positions, allowing workers in general to better pursue entrepreneurship and innovation.