MIIT to Accelerate Guidelines on Auto Supplier Payments and Strengthen Payment Term Oversight

On July 27, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Department of Equipment Industry I convened a media symposium to brief attendees on progress made in urging major automakers to shorten payment terms for their suppliers. Since June 2025, MIIT has promoted the implementation of the "Regulations on Ensuring Payment of Accounts Owed to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises" among 17 key automakers, encouraging them to adopt a "60-day payment term commitment." MIIT also guided the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) to issue the "Initiative on Standardized Payment Practices for Automotive OEMs to Suppliers." Additionally, MIIT launched an online channel—"Feedback Window for Issues (Suggestions) Regarding Key Automakers’ Fulfillment of Payment Term Commitments"—to facilitate multiple coordinated measures aimed at shortening payment cycles. The meeting noted that a small number of automakers still engage in practices that effectively extend payment terms, such as delaying the start date for calculating payment periods or implementing inconsistent internal management procedures. These issues require further supervision and corrective action. To strengthen oversight, MIIT has invited journalists from 20 central, financial, and industry-focused media outlets to serve as the first cohort of "Automotive Industry Payment Term Supervisors," tasked with promptly identifying issues and objectively reporting findings to help foster an efficient, collaborative, and mutually beneficial automotive industrial ecosystem. Going forward, MIIT will work with relevant departments to accelerate the development and release of guidelines on standardized payment practices for automotive enterprises toward their suppliers, intensify efforts to supervise and rectify indirect extensions of payment terms, and enhance regulatory enforcement against suspected violations of laws and regulations, thereby effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of supply chain enterprises—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.