On Oct. 10, the Huaihua Municipal Bureau of Commerce completed the registration of the city's first contract involving technology permitted for unrestricted export and issued Huaihua's first Technology Export Contract Registration Certificate. Huaihua Fifth Element Network Information Co., Ltd. signed a Master Agreement on ERP System Development, Delivery and Intellectual Property Transfer with a Singaporean company. The agreement marks a major substantive breakthrough for Huaihua in technology exports involving customized software development and intellectual property transfers. It also represents a shift from exporting goods to exporting technology and digital services, further diversifying the city's open economy and injecting fresh momentum into digital and technology trade.
The contract has a total technical value of $346,700 and covers system requirements design, module development, testing and deployment, post-launch warranty services, and the full transfer of intellectual property rights to the customized deliverables. A review determined that the project involves technology permitted for unrestricted export and is not subject to controls on prohibited or restricted technology exports or dual-use items. Under applicable regulations, the contract must be registered, and the company is required to complete the procedure within 60 days of the contract taking effect.
The Huaihua Municipal Bureau of Commerce provided early-stage support, helping the company refine the contract and properly complete the technology export application and data forms. It also commissioned a professional law firm to conduct a legal review and classify the technology against China's Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export. The law firm issued an opinion covering risk matters such as the contract number and effective date, disclosure of open-source components, controls on the end user and end use, compliance with cross-border data transfer rules, and tax and foreign-exchange procedures. The bureau then provided item-by-item risk guidance and coordinated support throughout the registration process to ensure the project could proceed in accordance with the law.
Huaihua's foreign trade has long been dominated by goods exports. The export of customized software technology and intellectual property by a local company to an RCEP member state is a landmark project for the city's digital services and technology trade. Huaihua plans to use the project as a model to support more digital technology companies engaged in foreign trade, strengthen policy briefings and compliance guidance, and develop new growth drivers in software development, technical services and intellectual property transfers. These efforts are intended to improve the city's foreign trade structure and move its open economy further up the value chain.
(Translated by Feng Tao)