China's National Printing & Reproduction Demonstration Enterprise Rules: 8 Entry Criteria, 5 Support Policies, and Annual Review

Policy snapshot

On December 7, 2011, China's General Administration of Press and Publication issued the Measures for the Administration of National Printing and Reproduction Demonstration Enterprises.

The Measures set out the definition, purpose, application criteria, procedures, preferential support, and assessment framework for national printing and reproduction demonstration enterprises.

They cover the full lifecycle from recognition to exit, giving printing, flexible packaging, and reproduction companies a clear policy roadmap.

The policy implements the Cultural Industry Revitalization Plan's call to build printing and reproduction demonstration bases. It aims to support category-based evaluation, standardize how these demonstration enterprises are established and managed, and amplify their guiding and radiating role in transforming development models, adjusting industrial structure, and upgrading industry quality—so China can strengthen its position as a world printing power.

Purpose and planning goals

The Measures define national printing and reproduction demonstration enterprises as backbone companies or groups that are properly qualified, law-abiding, well managed, technologically advanced, outstanding in products and performance, innovative and energy-efficient, talent-rich, and honest in business, while serving as nationwide examples.

The purpose is to identify, label, support, and promote such backbone enterprises or groups. This is expected to optimize the industrial structure, cultivate leading players, accelerate independent innovation and technological progress, encourage energy saving and emission reduction, promote green printing, and guide the entire industry toward transformation and upgrading.

The planning target is to establish about 100 National Printing Demonstration Enterprises nationwide from 2012 through the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan. By then, their guiding and radiating effects should be clear, backbone printers should be more competitive, industrial division of labor should be rational, regional development should be coordinated, and a relatively complete modern printing and reproduction industry system should take shape.

Eight applicant criteria

The Measures set applicant conditions across eight areas: lawful operation, scale and efficiency, technical equipment, innovation and R&D, management systems, green environmental protection, talent teams, and local support.

Lawful operation: applicants must exemplary comply with industry laws and regulations, have no piracy or illegal printing records, and have received no administrative penalties from press and publication authorities in the past three years.

Scale and efficiency: key economic efficiency indicators and overall labor productivity must rank among the top domestic peers, with profitability in the three most recent audited fiscal years. For printing enterprises, total assets must exceed RMB 300 million (RMB 100 million for those mainly in publication printing or digital printing), annual sales revenue must exceed RMB 500 million (RMB 200 million for those mainly in publication printing or digital printing), or total sales revenue over the past three years must exceed RMB 1 billion (RMB 500 million for those mainly in publication printing or digital printing) with average annual growth above 20% during that period, and annual tax payments must exceed RMB 10 million.

Technical equipment: companies need advanced multi-color, high-speed, automatic, and inline equipment, or strong capabilities in digital printing, flexographic printing, digital automatic control of printing equipment, digital asset management, computer-to-plate/direct plate-making, digital workflows, and related areas.

Innovation and R&D: R&D spending must be at least 1% of sales revenue. Applicants must have a national- or provincial-level enterprise technology center or R&D institution, hold authorized rights with the number held ranking among the top domestic peers, and show substantive innovation and relatively mature results in new product development, industrial chain extension, and business model exploration.

Management systems: applicants must have standardized modern property rights systems and sound management mechanisms; quality management system certification; production according to advanced domestic standards with product quality tested as compliant; a web-based enterprise management information system; and a complete safety management system with clear accountability and no major safety accidents in the past three years.

Green environmental protection: applicants must actively pursue green production, pass environmental management system and related green certifications, implement cleaner production audits, use compliant raw and auxiliary materials, apply energy-saving, emission-reducing, and cleaner production equipment, materials, and processes, and meet national environmental standards for emissions and energy conservation. Printing enterprises should be able to meet national green printing standards.

Talent teams: applicants need strong management and technology R&D teams. For printing enterprises, at least 70% of staff must have a college degree or above or a mid-level or higher professional title (including mid-level skilled worker or above), and at least 20% must be technical personnel (including technician or above).

Local support: the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where the applicant is located must have provided practical and feasible support policies and measures for establishing national printing and reproduction demonstration enterprises.

To encourage printing enterprises to go global, the Measures also allow recognition as National Printing Demonstration Enterprises for companies meeting these conditions: overseas printing and processing business in a year accounts for more than 30% of total main business volume, and annual overseas processing turnover reaches USD 20 million; return on total assets is higher than the bank loan interest rate for the same period; no arrears in taxes, wages, or social insurance contributions; debt-to-asset ratio generally below 60%; bank credit rating AA or above (including AA); product quality, technological content, and new product development capability rank at leading levels among peers; raw material utilization is high; and the main business complies with national industrial policies, environmental protection policies, and quality management standard systems.

Five support policies

The Measures define preferential support in five areas: project funding, industrial policy, management measures, selection and awards, and imported equipment. Printing enterprises are involved in the first four.

Project funding: the General Administration of Press and Publication gives priority support through industrial development projects and development funds to printing and reproduction enterprises recognized as demonstration enterprises.

Industrial policy: in Sino-foreign joint venture and Sino-foreign cooperative publication printing enterprises and other printed matter printing enterprises, the foreign party may hold a controlling or dominant position, but the Chinese party's proportion or rights and interests must not be less than 30%.

Management measures: when demonstration enterprises accept commissions to print or reproduce overseas products, provincial, autonomous region, and municipality press and publication authorities may, while ensuring cultural security, appropriately simplify approval procedures and improve approval efficiency based on actual management needs.

Selection and awards: in evaluations such as the China Publishing Government Award (Printing and Reproduction Award), National Key Cultural Export Enterprises, and National Cultural High-Tech Enterprises, recognized demonstration printing and reproduction enterprises receive priority under equal conditions.

Annual assessment and exit mechanism

The Measures require an annual assessment mechanism based on target-based assessment, dynamic management, and entry/exit flexibility. The General Administration of Press and Publication organizes an expert review panel to assess these enterprises and determine annual results. Those that fail lose their title. Enterprises that seriously violate laws and regulations with serious circumstances, cause major production safety and quality accidents with serious consequences, or commit other serious violations will have their National Printing and Reproduction Demonstration Enterprise title directly revoked.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362112.html