Legal status
Electronic bills of lading in China
Under the revised Maritime Code, adopted on 28 October 2025 and in force from 1 May 2026, China gives electronic transport records that meet the statutory conditions the same legal effect as paper transport documents.
- Status
- In force
- Instrument
- Maritime Code of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国海商法), as revised on 28 October 2025 (Presidential Order No. 58)
- MLETR-based
- Partial
- Enacted
- 28 Oct 2025
- In force since
- 1 May 2026
- Scope
- Chapter IV, Section 5 (Articles 82–86) of the revised Code covers electronic transport records issued under contracts for the carriage of goods by sea, both transferable and non-transferable, and so covers electronic bills of lading and sea waybills; it does not cover bills of exchange, promissory notes or warehouse receipts. Separate Provisions on Promoting and Regulating the Application of Electronic Documents (CAC Order No. 22, in force 1 September 2026) apply more widely, including to electronic warehouse receipts and cargo insurance policies.
In more detail
Articles 82–86 let carrier and shipper agree to use electronic records; a transferable record must use a reliable method or system that keeps it unique and gives the holder exclusive control. UNCITRAL lists China as a 2025 enactment influenced by the MLETR and applying only to bills of lading. Provisions on electronic documents issued on 17 April 2026 by the Cyberspace Administration of China and nine other departments, in force from 1 September 2026, set requirements for reliable electronic document systems.
What remains unclear
Article 85 of the revised Code leaves the standards for transfer, exclusive control, form conversion and reliable systems for transferable electronic transport records to be set separately by the national cyberspace authority together with the State Council transport department. CAC Order No. 22 (in force 1 September 2026) cites the Maritime Code as one of its legal bases and sets functions for systems serving transferable electronic documents, but it does not say that it is the Article 85 standard. Whether further standards will be issued is not yet clear.
Sources
- Status: UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (2017)UNCITRAL · accessed 16 Oct 2026supports: MLETR basis, scope, summary
- 中华人民共和国海商法（2025修订）Ministry of Commerce of the PRC (regulations database, sourced from the National Database of Laws and Regulations) · published 28 Oct 2025 · accessed 16 Oct 2026supports: status, instrument, enacted, in force since, scope, summary
- 促进和规范电子单证应用规定 (Order No. 22)Cyberspace Administration of China and nine other central departments · published 17 Apr 2026 · accessed 16 Oct 2026supports: scope, summary
- Supreme People's Court announcement of the judicial interpretation on the temporal effect of the Maritime Code (法释〔2026〕8号)Supreme People's Court of the PRC · published 28 Apr 2026 · accessed 16 Oct 2026supports: status, enacted