The State Council plans to translate into English all its rules related to trade, so as to help people around the world increase their understanding of China’s trade rules.

The General Office of the State Council released a notice on March 23, saying that all ministries, commissions and organizations directly under the State Council should start compiling an English version of their rules related to trade.

If a rule is jointly issued by more than one department, the department primarily responsible for the rule-making will also be responsible for the translation, the notice said.

The translation project, part of the country’s efforts to fulfill WTO and bilateral commitments, will cover all the rules related to trade in goods, services and trade-related intellectual property rights.

In the future, China plans to release an English version of such rules before they take effect or, in special cases, a maximum of 90 days after the rule is implemented.

The notice urged all the departments to standardize their translations and make sure that they are accurate. In the event of any conflict between the Chinese and English versions, the Chinese version shall prevail.

The notice also stressed the importance of involving professional talents, in the legal field and in the English language, to work on this initiative.