At Feb. 3, 2000, the State Council promulgated Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi. In the form of laws and regulations, the regulation stipulate clearly on the design, printing, issuance, circulation, retrieve and protection of the Renminbi. The regulation embodied great significance in enhancing the governing of the Renminbi, protecting the reputation of legal tender, and stabilizing the financial order. Precious metal commemorative coins refer to commemorative coins made of gold, silver and platinum, which is a component part of the Renminbi. The promulgation and implementation of the regulation bear great guiding significance in further regulating the issuance work of CMPMCC, propel the reformation work on the design, production and marketing of CMPMCC in an all round way.

I. From the issuance of the first set of precious metal commemorative coins in 1979 --- the 30th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, CMPMCC has went through its 21 years splendid development course. The total issuance including more than 10 categories, over 1400 breeds precious metal commemorative coins. The themes of CMPMCC include Significant Political and Historical Events, Outstanding Historical Figures, Panda and Precious Animals, 12 Lunar Animals, Chinese Classical Literature Works, Ancient Technological Inventions and Discoveries, Chinese Traditional Culture, Chinese Famous Paintings and Painters, Religious Art, Sports and so on, their content reflected the 5000 years long Chinese civilization and ever lasting Chinese culture. Be wide in theme, rich in content, pregnant with meaning, novel in design, exquisite in engraving, fineness in minting, as well as a strong national flavor and a unique artistic style, CMPMCC enjoyed a good popularity among coin funs and collectors domestic and abroad. Panda coins and Chinese lunar animal coins have been awarded many prizes domestic and abroad. The 1983 panda gold coin was awarded the world Best Gold Coin prize, and panda gold coins have became an important investment coin in the international numismatic market. In commemoration of the hand over of Hong Kong and Macao, PBC issued gold and silver commemorative coins respectively in 1995 and 1997. Well received by the market, these coins aroused a strong repercussion, and gained a good social effect and a considerable economic returns as well.
In the initial stage, the issuance of CMPMCC abroad is mainly through overseas banks and coin dealers. With the enlarged market and the need of business, in 1987, PBC decided to set up China Gold Coin Inc., who is responsible for the work of design and marketing of CMPMCC. Through years of hard work, the issuance of CMPMCC has formed a grand scale spread all over Asia, America and Europe, and China has became one of the important precious metal commemorative coins export countries. With the deepening of the reform and open door policy and the improvement of people's living standard, as well as the rapid development of domestic numismatic market, precious metal commemorative coins gradually become collectibles in ordinary families. CGCI grasped opportunities to explore new market, we have se up selling centers in Beijing and Shenzhen, and set up more than 50 special sales agencies in many cities in China; We also set up American Great Wall Inc. and European Great Wall Inc., these two companies will gradually give full play of their role as overseas selling channels.
Through 21 years hard work, CMPMCC made positive contributions to propagandize Chinese culture, present the achievements of the reform and open-door policy and the socialist spiritual construction, support the national economic construction. Recent years, the international gold market has been in a turbulent situation, under its effect, precious metal commemorative coin's market has step into its adjusting period. With the rapid development of CMPMCC in recent years, corresponding management is relevantly backward, so, in order to develop the course of CMPMCC in a sound, steady way, the regulation and management work shall be put on the table of agenda. It is at the right time to promulgate Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi, this regulation provide a practical basis for the regulation of the project selection, design, production, marketing and management work of CMPMCC.

II. As stipulated in article 18 of Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi: Commemorative coins are Renminbi issued under specific themes and with limited mintages. Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi firstly emphasizes the specialty of the theme of commemorative coins, including precious metal commemorative coins. CMPMCC are legal tender of the PRC., their themes shall be in line with the policy, and be adaptive to the market, practice according to the market law. We shall utilize the source of themes rationally, and also pay attention to the protection of the source as well; regulate the classification standard and the standard of project selection; set up a storehouse of themes; protectively develop new products according to the market, thus meet the demand of the market.
Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi emphasized CMPMCC's specialty of limited mintage at the same time. Except panda bullion coins, all other CMPMCC have their specified mintages. " the rarer the dearer", issue with a limited mintage is the right way to show its potentiality of premium and also the investment value. As to the specialty of CMPMCC, mintages should be fixed according to the domestic and overseas market, according to collectors. So we must consider benefits, scale and popularity all at a time. So, to fix the mintage of CMPMCC, we shall make a comprehensive consideration of factors like theme, premium potentiality, expected market demands and target market. We are now exploring further to find out the scientific way of mintage set up, to make CMPMCC gain both a certain scale of coin funs, and a certain collecting value.

III. Stipulated in article 19 of Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi: enterprises who print Renminbi print it according to the quality standard and printing plan formulated by the PBC. In the regulation, the quality of Renminbi is specifically stipulated, that is: according to the standard formulated by the PBC.. As legal tender of the PRC., the quality of CMPMCC is a reflection of the image of the PBC. and the reputation of the PRC., so we must have the concept of "high quality products"; regulate the design and production of CMPMCC; improve the quality of our products in an all-round way, produce more "high quality products". At the beginning of 2000, we convened CMPMCC design and production conference, fixed the reform thought of the design and production.
High quality design comes before "high quality products", the design of CMPMCC must be done through some fundamental works. We must break through those old thought and style, make artistic explorations, upgrade the style to form a new style combined both the national tradition and modern concept. We shall depend on the design force of our companies and mints, widen our thought, take part in competitions by make moderate adoption of social design force. Fully utilize the artistic specialists as well as the wisdom of the masses. Improve the quality of designs from aspects like artistic reflection and variety of styles, make positively first rate designs. At the same time, we set up Chinese Gold and Silver Commemorative Coins Draft Design and Sample Coins Appraisal Committee, make public appraisal of the creative art level of the draft designs, and the technological quality of the sample coins. As the committee is an authority in art, and the appraisal is public, the committee will propel the improvement designs objectively. To produce "high quality products", we must pay special attention to links in the production chain. We shall adapt competition system. Under the condition of not change the mandatory planning of the production, we shift the way of using political measure to point the production mint to orderly moderate competition, the right to produce coins is decided by the quality of their sample coins, that is, through the appraisal of the committee, the mint who presented the best sample coin will get the chance to produce the coin.
We must strictly keep in line with the standard stipulated in Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi, thus ensure a scientific and rational production cycle and a high quality. Shenzhen Guobao Mint is the only professional mint in China and also the only minting enterprises affiliated to CGCI. It's only a short time after its establishment, and the mint got off to a late start, so their technological power is comparatively weak. Guobao mint shall carry out reform in production management and positively take part in the sample coin competitions, perfect and improve their currently possessed technological and mold making level, strictly implement the formulated standard of the production, art and technology in the production of CMPMCC, produce the first rate precious metal commemorative coins, construct Guobao mint as the basis of technological innovations.
To improve the quality of CMPMCC in an all round way, we must improve the design and production quality of the certificates and packages. We shall further unify and regulate the package, improve the overall appearance of the package, make it more innovative, enhance the anti-counterfeit function.

IV. Stipulated in article 25 of the Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi: the buying and selling of commemorative coins must be done under the guidance of concerned regulations of the PBC.. The PBC. has issued Circular on the Project Selection, Design, Production and Issuance Management of CMPMCC. The circular made concrete stipulations about CMPMCC entering the circulation. Abide by stipulations of the PBC. and the market law, we propel the system reform on marketing of CMPMCC and regulate selling actions.
It has been one year since we carried out the system reform on the marketing of CMPMCC. The Qualifications and Verificatory Measures of CMPMCC Retail Enterprises has been issued, the list of the first qualified 54 retail enterprises has been fixed. A tentative framework has been formed, in this framework, CGCI is the general selling center, together with Shenzhen selling center and Beijing Kaiyuan selling center works as wholesale centers, and there are also more than 50 retail enterprises whose work radiate the whole country.
These reform measures improved the publicness of the issuance work and basically realized the "five openness" --- openness in project selection, openness in mintage, openness in price, openness in selling agencies, openness in ways of selling. Since 2000, our centural work is the realization of the reform of the selling system. The domestic selling of CMPMCC changed into a system that Shenzhen selling center and Beijing Kaiyuan selling center work as the only two wholesale agencies, and their forward selling business with those retail enterprises are stipulated to be public thus ensure the justice, openness and fair of the issuance work. Selling department need a change and a relocation of the function, free themselves from concrete selling business and enhance their research and study of the market and supervision management. On one hand, we shall make carefully study about the quantity and the distribution of the retail enterprises; absorb advices from various sides, coordinate and regulate their selling activities, try hard to construct a good market circumstances. On the other hand, we will realize on-line selling through our on-line business system, make careful consideration about our company's future development. The silver market has been opened, the gold market will surely be opened in the future. We will face severe challenges, so we must have the concept of going through hardships and take part in competitions, make good preparations to meet challenges.

V. All the articles in Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi reflected the necessity and the importance of enhancing the management of Renminbi from its design, printing, retrieve, circulation, protection, anti-counterfeit and punishment. We shall self-check and self-regulate in accordance with every article in the regulation. For example, the 11th article stipulated that: the original plate and dies used in printing Renminbi, must be seal up for safekeeping. We shall regulate the management of Renminbi strictly in accordance with articles in Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi.
As a professional company who is solely deals in gold and silver commemorative coins and numismatic business, CGCI has the function of "manage, coordinate, operate, service" the market, and shoulders the responsibility of continuously cultivate and guide the market. In recent years, the market of gold and silver coins is at a low tide, how to balance the supply and the demand of the gold and silver coins and try hard to tide over the adjusting period is our most pressing matter at the moment. We shall elaborate the function as the pivot of the trade, enhance the supervision over branches and retail enterprises; effectively cultivate, guide and manage the market; stipulate the market to be brisk but not indiscriminate; propel the market of gold and silver coins develop in a sound way.
As stipulated in article 19 of the Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi: The People's Bank of China should announce to the public about the theme, face value, design, material, shape, specification, mintage and issuance time. Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi reflected the management requirement on the propaganda work, the PBC. shall publicize factors of the coins through official media before the issuance. After the approval of the PBC., we will make positive propagandization through news media, irregular publications, internet and so on, to be a right guidance of coin funs and consumers, promote a sound development of the market.
CMPMCC is legislated in Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi, this is an honor of all the employees in this trade, and also a strict requirement for us, we feel the significance of our duty. We should take the issuance of Regulations of The People's Republic of China Governing the Renminbi as a juncture to operate legally, and regulate the design, production and the marketing work, enhance the management within the trade, work hard for a sound development of CMPMCC.

( Translated by Tracy Zhao of www.chinagoldcoin.net )