Published by ChinaMNC · Cuiping

China’s Website Identification System: What Foreign Founders Should Know About Official Site Certification

A practical look at how a Chinese government portal’s website identification, accessibility evaluation, and certification data are organized, and what foreign founders should understand about China’s website identification management system.

Website Identification Management: A Practical Guide for Foreign Founders

Foreign founders setting up or operating a company in China often encounter the country’s website identification system when building a corporate website, an online service portal, or a customer-facing platform. The source page is a government website identification record for the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government portal. It is not a guide for companies, but its structure shows how Chinese authorities publish and verify website identification data. That structure is useful to understand before you register or operate a website in China.

Who Manages Website Identification

The source states that the competent authority for website identification management is the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The issuing body is the Internet Society of China. The page also identifies the host institution as the General Office of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government, an official Party and government body. For foreign founders, the key point is that China’s website identification system is organized at the national level, with a ministry as the competent authority and an industry association as the issuing body. If your China entity operates a website, expect identification matters to fall within the broader framework overseen by MIIT rather than being purely a local matter.

What the Identification Record Contains

The source page lists a specific electronic identification number for the Sichuan government portal. It also provides separate evaluations for the PC website and the WAP website. These evaluations cover elder-friendly design, accessibility, and an efficiency index. The page reports self-evaluation, institutional evaluation, and user evaluation scores for both elder-friendly and accessibility categories. The efficiency index is reported in terms of comprehensiveness, reliability, and robustness, each shown as a percentage. The page also reports overall evaluation scores for the PC and WAP sites.

This structure matters because it shows that a website identification record is not only a badge. It can include performance and accessibility evaluations from multiple perspectives. For a foreign founder, the practical lesson is that a company website in China may be assessed not only for registration compliance but also for usability, accessibility, and reliability.

Certification Validity and Renewal

The source states that both the PC website identification certification and the WAP website identification certification have a validity period of two years, from January 27, 2026 to January 26, 2028. The certificate certification also has the same two-year validity period. The page includes a link to download a stamped accessibility and elder-friendly evaluation report for the Sichuan government portal.

For foreign founders, this indicates that website identification certification is time-limited. If your China business maintains an identified website, you should plan for renewal cycles and keep track of expiration dates. The source does not describe the renewal procedure for companies, so you should confirm current requirements with the relevant authorities or a qualified local adviser.

Scheduled Inspections

The source lists scheduled inspection dates: July 26, 2026; January 26, 2027; and July 26, 2027. The inspection result shown is “passed.” This suggests that website identification is subject to periodic review after certification, not only at the initial application stage. Foreign founders should therefore treat website identification as an ongoing compliance item. Build internal reminders for inspection dates and keep website content, accessibility features, and technical performance in good order.

Accessibility and Elder-Friendly Design

The source page gives significant space to elder-friendly and accessibility evaluations. It reports separate scores from self-evaluation, institutional evaluation, and user evaluation. It also reports an accessibility evaluation with the same three perspectives. This reflects a broader emphasis in China’s public website management on making digital services usable for older people and people with disabilities.

For foreign founders, this is a practical signal. If your company website or app serves the Chinese market, accessibility and elder-friendly design may be relevant to how your site is evaluated. The source does not set out legal requirements for private companies, so you should not treat these scores as mandatory targets. Instead, use them as an indication of the quality dimensions Chinese authorities track when they evaluate websites.

Efficiency Index: Comprehensiveness, Reliability, Robustness

The source reports an efficiency index with three components: comprehensiveness, reliability, and robustness, each at 100% for both the PC and WAP sites. This shows that website evaluation can include technical and operational dimensions. For foreign founders, the takeaway is that a well-run China-facing website should be complete, dependable, and technically stable. These are general operational good practices, but the source shows they are part of how official website evaluations are structured.

What Foreign Founders Should Do

• Identify the correct authority. The source names MIIT as the competent authority and the Internet Society of China as the issuing body. Confirm current registration and identification requirements with the relevant authorities or a qualified local adviser.
• Plan for two-year validity. The source shows a two-year certification period. Track expiration dates and prepare for renewal in advance.
• Prepare for periodic inspections. The source lists scheduled inspection dates and a “passed” result. Treat inspections as recurring compliance events.
• Pay attention to accessibility. The source reports elder-friendly and accessibility evaluations from self, institutional, and user perspectives. Consider these dimensions when designing China-facing websites.
• Maintain technical quality. The source reports comprehensiveness, reliability, and robustness. Keep your website complete, stable, and dependable.
• Keep records. The source includes an electronic identification number and a downloadable stamped report. Maintain your own certification and evaluation records in an organized way.

Important Limits

The source page is a record for a government portal, not a guide for private companies. It does not state that foreign-founded companies must follow the same evaluation scores or inspection schedule. It also does not describe application procedures, fees, or penalties. Use this article as orientation only, and verify current rules with the relevant Chinese authorities or a qualified professional before acting.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.