On September 21, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) drafted the Administrative Measures for the Record-filing of Commercial Franchises (Draft Revision for Comment) (the "Draft"), and published it for public feedback. 

The objective of the revision, as outlined in the Draft, is to perform China's commitments following its accession to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The Draft proposes the deletion of the relevant content from Item 10 of Article 6 of the current Measures, which previously mandated that foreign-invested enterprises submit the Approval Certificate for Foreign-invested Enterprises and that the business scope therein include the item of "engagement in commercial activities by way of franchise". Additionally, it proposes the addition of the phrase "except as otherwise provided by international treaties joined or concluded by China" into the final paragraph of Article 6, while removing the wordings "or go through the certification procedures specified in the relevant treaties concluded between the People's Republic of China and that country."

(Source: Ministry of Commerce)