According to the new policy from CNNIC, for newly registered domain names via oversea registrars and by oversea companies which have a branch in mainland China, the requirement of submitting MIIT ICP  recording number can be exempted under the circumstances listed below:

 1)       For non website usage purpose. Customer needs to submit “the letter of commitment of the usage of domain name for non website purpose”.

2)       Website server not in Mainland China. Customer needs to submit “the letter of commitment of the usage of domain name for website whose  server is not based in mainland China”.

 The letter of commitment should be submitted to update-info@cnnic.cn. After the name passes the CNNIC audit process, the domain name will start to resolve normally. 

Interested registrants can download the CNNIC Letter of Commitment from EnCirca’s .CN webpage.

> BRIGHTLIGHT.CN

> CAPITALMARKETS.CN

> ORCHIDS.CN

> ORIENTEXPRESS.CN

> PRIVATEBANK.CN

> PRIVATEBANKER.CN

> PRIVATEBANKING.CN

> RESERVE.CN

> SOVEREIGN.CN

> VERIFY.CN

> WEALTHMANAGEMENT.CN

To bid on these names, go to http://www.encirca.com/cgi-bin/auctions/list.cgi

With the recent new restrictions imposed by the .CN registry, many of the pre-existing .cn domain names would never have been registered.

In addition, new registrations are now severely limited to companies and individuals  outside of China.  However, existing registrations are not impacted by the new restrictions: they can be renewed and transferred freely.

Does this make them more valuable?  What will happen to the average re-sale price of .cn domains?

Your comments are welcomed.

For some .cn domains available for sale, see here: http://www.encirca.com/cgi-bin/auctions/list.cgi

While some leading domain name registration services have decided to no longer resell .cn, EnCirca will continue to offer its customers the opportunity to protect their trademarks and brand names in China.

The new rules enacted by CNNIC restricts eligibility to businesses with a presence in China.  EnCirca urges CNNIC, the .cn registry to allow business and trademark owners to apply for .cn domain names without the requirement to have a physical presence in China.

The majority of EnCirca customers operate, in large part, outside of China. However, these companies and organizations have expressed their interest in safeguarding their brands and image in the world’s fastest growing economy.

Currently, registrants of a .cn domain name must have a presence in China and include their China Business registration license and the application must be submitted by a Chinese citizen accompanied by their color passport-like photograph. Interest in securing .cn domains still exists, despite these restrictions.

EnCirca and its customers believe China and the CNNIC should revise their restrictions and allow foreign businesses to secure .cn domain names without a physical presence.

For frequently asked questions about registering a .cn domain, please visit http://www.encirca.com/updates/faqs.shtml#rules

Oversea multi-national entities that have a China branch should to register .CN or CNNIC managed CDN name through CNNIC accredited oversea registrar.

Registrars should follow the submitting procedures set during Dec. 14^th 2009 to Jan. 6^th 2010. Qualified application verification materials should be submitted to CNNIC through fax at +86-10-58812666-2 or email at reaudit6@cnnic.cn. Auditing period will be automatically extended if the application submitting day falls into a Chinese Holiday. (Such as Chinese New Year)

Successful applications will subject to “serverhold” status if the name is not recorded in China’s MIIT ICP Recording system. User should record the name with MIIT ICP Recording system and provide the Record Number to registrar, which in turn submits to CNNIC at update-info1@cnnic.cn (which also used for updating domain name information). CNNIC will reset the status to “OK”. 

Definitions and Detailed Criteria:

China Branch: means international companies, enterprises, and organizations establish within mainland China (PRC), a wholly owned or share controlling entity: including a branch, a subsidiary or a representative office which is having the same “name” as the parent entity. The local entity must register with the relevant Chinese authorities.

For example: IBM should use “IBM China” to register IBM.cn

Note: the above do not include embassies, consulates, un-registered individual representatives, non-legal person organizations, and JV entities. 

Chinese employee: the person submitting the application on behalf of the registrant (the entity), must be a Chinese citizen and has a valid PRC personal ID.

 Registrars Responsibilities：

1.       Check the completeness of the verification materials;

2.       Registrar maintains a copy of those application materials.