(Reviewed and approved on the 8th Minister Working Meeting of Ministry of Information Industry (MII) on September 28, 2004 and shall go into force as of December 20, 2004)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 China Internet Domain Name Regulations (hereafter the Regulations) are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state and with reference to the international rules for the administration of Internet domain names, with a view to promoting the development of the Internet in China, safeguarding the secure and reliable operation of China Internet Domain Names System and regulating the administration of China Internet domain names System.

Article 2 The Regulations shall be observed in the registration of domain names and in the activities with relation thereto within the territory of the People's Republic of China.

Article 3 The definitions of the following terms mentioned in the Regulations are as follows:

1. Domain Name

Refers to the character identification of hierarchical structure that identifies and locates a computer on the Internet and corresponds to the IP address of this computer.

2. Chinese Domain Name

Refers to the domain name that contains Chinese characters.

3. DNS Root Server

Refers to the server that bears the function of root nodes in the domain name system.

4. Operation Entity of DNS Root Server

Refers to the institution that is responsible for operating, maintaining and administering the DNS root server.

5. Top Level Domain (TLD) Name

Refers to the name of the first level domain under the root node in the domain name system.

6. Domain Name Registry

Refers to the administration institution that is responsible for operating, maintaining and managing certain Top Level Domain Name System.

7. Domain Name Registrar

Refers to certain service institution that accepts applications for registering domain names, directly completes the registration processes in domestic Top Level Domain Name databases; directly or indirectly completes the registration processes in oversea Top Level Domain Name databases.

Article 4 MII is responsible for the administration of the Internet domain names in China. Its main responsibilities are as follows:

1) Formulating the regulations and policies concerning the administration of the Internet domain names;

2) Establishing the system for .CN ccTLD and Chinese domain names;

3) Administering the operational institutions of DNS root servers, which set up and operate the DNS root servers (including mirror servers) within the territory of the People' s Republic of China;

4) Administrating Domain Name Registry and Registrars within the territory of the People's Republic of China;

5) Supervising and administering domain name registration services;

6) Being responsible for international coordination related to domain names.

Article 5

Any organization or individual shall not take any action to hamper the normal operation of the Internet Domain Name System in China.