On 23 October, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on its official website that the «Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents», also known as the «Hague Apostille Convention», will enter into force in China on 7 November 2023.

On 8 March 2023, China acceded to the «Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents», a widely adopted international treaty in the field of private international law with numerous signatory states. The main purpose of the convention is to simplify the transfer of public documents between countries.

From 7 November, public documents issued in China can be used in other signatory countries simply by obtaining an Apostille, without having to go through consular legalisation at those countries’ embassies or consulates in China. Likewise, foreign public documents issued in signatory states can be used in China with just the Apostille issued in their country of origin, without requiring consular legalisation by Chinese embassies or consulates in those states.