Direct answer

Write who classifies, who applies, who does not divert — then still get the licence.

Useful clauses: each party’s export-control representations; who obtains China and foreign licences; cooperation on EUCs; prohibition on prohibited users and uses; notification if lists change; suspension and termination if a licence is refused; audit and information rights; sanctions/AFSL allocation where the deal has foreign-sanctions exposure. A clause that says ‘buyer is solely responsible’ will not stop MOFCOM from treating the Chinese exporter as the exporter. Flow-down to subcontractors and overseas affiliates matters for technology. Keep the clause bilingual if the China entity must perform it.

The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

Who is the exporter of record under China law?

That party cannot contract out of the ECL.

Exporter
02

Which countries’ lists are in scope?

China plus US/EU if the group is exposed.

Lists
03

What happens if a notice lands mid-contract?

Price, delay, termination, and who eats the cost.

Change
04

Is technology in the deal?

Remote access and personnel clauses.

Tech

Working rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Buyer-sole-responsibility
Does the Chinese seller disclaim all export law?
Ineffective against the regulator; still a civil allocation between parties.
No list-change clause
Will a new mineral notice wreck a firm PO with no exit?
Commodity deals need a change-in-law path.
English-only
Must a China ops team perform a clause they cannot read?
Bilingual execution is an evidence issue too.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Clause setRepresentations, licence, EUC, change-in-law, termination.
02Exporter mapWhich legal entity actually exports.
03Flow-downSubcontractors and affiliates bound.
04Licence fileHow the contract points at the live memo.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Can we indemnify our way out of a missing licence?

Indemnity may shift money between parties. It does not authorise the export or bind MOFCOM.

Should AFSL sit in the same clause as dual-use?

Often as a neighbouring sanctions block, not fused. AFSL is a counter-sanctions statute; dual-use is item control. See the AFSL Quick Answer.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Export Control Law (gov.cn)
MOFCOM
National laws database (NPC)