The commerce bureau of Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, issued a force majeure certificate for a local company on April 22.
The company, which is located in Leyu town of Zhangjiagang, is one of the major manufacturers of metallurgical machinery and environmental protection equipment in China. Due to the latest COVID-19 outbreak, it was not able to deliver goods in a timely fashion to an overseas client.
If the company could not provide a force majeure certificate, it would have paid a penalty and had its creditability affected, according to a director at the manufacturer.
The bureau, also a branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, sent staff members to help the company acquire the necessary documents and submit an online application, said Qian Feng, an official at the bureau.
A force majeure certificate is a document of discharge for non-performance or delayed performance of a commercial transaction caused by an unforeseeable and insurmountable event. The certificate is issued by the CCPIT and its subsidiaries in China.
To date, more than 200 countries and regions' governments, companies, customs and business organizations have recognized the COVID-19 pandemic as a force majeure.
The local COVID-19 outbreak has caused production and logistics problems for foreign trade companies in Zhangjiagang and the commerce bureau is helping many of them with the application of force majeure certificates, said Qian.