Published by ChinaMNC · Luding

China Website Certification and Accessibility Labels: What the Latest Government Evaluation Means for Foreign Founders

A practical look at how China's official website identity-label and accessibility evaluation system works, based on a provincial government portal's latest assessment, and what foreign founders should know when building and operating a China company's online presence.

Quick takeaways for foreign founders

The source document is an official evaluation and identity-label record for a provincial government portal. It does not cover company registration, capital, tax or licenses directly. For an international founder, however, it illustrates a compliance layer that increasingly matters once your China entity has an online presence: official website identity labels, periodic inspection and accessibility evaluation. Below is what the record shows, translated into practical points for founders setting up and running a company in China.

• Website identity labels are time-limited. The record shows two-year validity periods for both the PC and mobile (WAP) versions of the portal, running from 27 January 2026 to 26 January 2028.
• Certification is paired with scheduled inspections. Three inspection dates are listed through mid-2027, each with a result of “passed”.
• Accessibility and elderly-friendly evaluation is scored separately from general performance, with self, institutional and user scores.
• Administration sits with central bodies. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is named as the supervising authority, and the Internet Society of China as the issuing body.

What the source actually contains

The document is an identity-management (标识管理) record for the portal of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government. Its institutional information lists the General Office of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government as the host organisation, describes the body type as a party and government organ, and gives the site address as www.sc.gov.cn with an electronic identity number.

PC and mobile evaluations

Two evaluation blocks appear, one for the PC website and one for the WAP (mobile) website. Each block contains:

• Elderly-friendly evaluation (适老化评价): self-assessment, institutional assessment and user assessment scores.
• Accessibility evaluation (无障碍评价): the same three-part scoring structure.
• Performance index (效能指数): completeness, reliability and robustness, each shown as a percentage.
• An overall evaluation score.

For the PC site, the record shows self-assessment of 100 for both elderly-friendly and accessibility categories, institutional scores of 82 and 83, and user scores of 83 and 83. Completeness, reliability and robustness are each 100%, and the overall score is 86.2.

For the WAP site, self-assessment is 100 in both categories, institutional scores are 82 and 80, user scores are 81 and 82, the three performance indices are each 100%, and the overall score is 85.4.

Label management and validity

The identity-management section names the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as the competent authority and the Internet Society of China as the issuing organisation. Both the PC and WAP identity certifications carry a two-year term, from 27 January 2026 to 26 January 2028. The same two-year period applies to the certificate certification, and the record references a downloadable stamped PDF of the portal's elderly-friendly and accessibility evaluation report.

Periodic inspection

Three inspection dates are scheduled: 26 July 2026, 26 January 2027 and 26 July 2027. Each is marked as passed.

Why this matters for your China company

Foreign founders often treat the website as an afterthought once the business licence is issued. In practice, a China-facing site is part of your compliance footprint. The record above shows the pattern the authorities use: a formal identity label tied to a named issuing body, a fixed validity window, and recurring inspections. If your China entity operates a public-facing website — especially one that handles user data, publishes regulated content or serves as a service portal — expect similar expectations around labelling, periodic review and accessibility.

Accessibility is scored, not optional

The document separates accessibility and elderly-friendly design into their own scored categories with self, institutional and user components. For founders, that suggests building accessibility into the site from the start is cheaper than retrofitting it later. Simple measures — readable fonts, keyboard navigation, image alt text, clear contrast — reduce rework when a review comes around.

Plan for renewal, not a one-off filing

The two-year validity and the listed inspection dates make the operating rhythm clear: certification is a cycle, not a single event. Founders should note renewal dates in their compliance calendar alongside annual reporting, licence renewals and tax filings.

How this fits into setting up in China

This record does not describe entity choice, registered capital, documents or tax registration, so founders should not read it as a registration guide. What it does show is that Chinese regulators evaluate online public-facing services against published criteria and issue formal labels with expiry dates.

In practical terms, once your entity is established — whether as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, a joint venture or a representative office — and you begin operating a website or app for Chinese users, you should treat identity labelling, accessibility and periodic inspection as part of your ongoing compliance workload. Coordinate these with your domain registration, hosting arrangements and any required filing for internet information services.

A note on the scores

The evaluation scores in the source apply to that specific government portal. They are not benchmarks for private companies and should not be read as targets or guarantees for your own site. The useful signal is the structure: separate self, institutional and user assessments, plus performance indices and scheduled inspections.

Checklist for founders

• Map your online assets — which sites and apps serve Chinese users, and which are public-facing.
• Build accessibility in early — treat elderly-friendly and accessible design as a design requirement, not a fix.
• Track validity windows — record certification and inspection dates in your compliance calendar.
• Keep documentation ready — the source references a stamped evaluation report, suggesting formal records are expected.
• Align with your broader filings — coordinate website compliance with entity registration, tax and licence obligations.

Next step

Foreign founders who need hands-on support with company registration, website compliance and day-to-day operations in China can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp or WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535.

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