(Unofficial translation) The Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, have agreed to the following: 　　Article 1 Personal Scope 　　This Agreement shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States. 　　Article 2 taxes Covered 　　1.This Agreement shall apply to taxes on income imposed on behalf of a Contracting state or of its administrative subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied. 　　2.There shall be regarded as taxes on income all taxes imposed on total income or on elements of income, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable property, as well as taxes on capital appreciation. 　　3.The existing taxes to which the Agreement shall apply are in particular: 　　(a)with respect to Belgium: (i) the individual income tax (l'impot des personnes physiques); (ii) the corporate income tax (l'impot des societes); (iii) the tax on legal persons (l'impot des personnes morales); (vi) the tax on non-residents (l'impot des non-residents); (v) the special levy equivalent to the individual income tax (la cotisation speciale assimilee a l'impot des personnes physiques); 　　including any prepayments (precomptes), surcharges on the above-mentioned taxes and prepayments as well as the additional taxes on the individual income tax 　　(hereinafter referred to as "Belgian tax"); 　　(b)with respect to China: (i) the individual income tax; (ii) the income tax concerning joint ventures with Chinese and foreign investment; (iii) the income tax concerning foreign enterprises; (vi) the local income tax; including all withholding taxes and all prepayments with respect to the above-mentioned taxes (hereinafter referred to as "Chinese tax"); 4.The Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Agreement in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other in due time of substantial changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws. Article 3 General Definitions 1.For the purposes of this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires: (a)the term "Belgium" means the Kingdom of Belgium; when used in a geographical sense, it means the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium including its territorial sea as well as areas over which, in accordance with international law, the Kingdom of Belgium has sovereign rights with respect to exploration for and exploitation of the natural resources of the sea-bed and subsoil thereof and the above-lying waters; (b)the term "China" means the People's Republic of China; when used in a geographical sense, means all the territory of the People's Republic of China, including its territorial sea, in which the laws relating to Chinese tax are in force, and all the area beyond its territorial sea over which, in accordance with international law, the People's republic of China has sovereign rights for the purposes of exploration for and exploitation of the resources of the sea-bed and subsoil thereof and the above-lying waters; (c)the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting state" mean Belgium or China, as the context requires; (d)the term "tax" means Belgian tax or Chinese tax, as the context requires; (e)the term "person" includes an individual, a company and any other body of persons; (f)the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; (g)the terms "enterprise of a Contracting State" and "enterprise of the other Contracting State" mean respectively and enterprise carried on by a resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident of the other Contracting State; (h) the term "nationals" means: (i) all individuals having the nationality of a Contracting State; (ii) all legal persons, partnerships and associations constituted in accordance with the law in force in a Contracting State; (i)the term "international traffic" means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise which has its place of head office in a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State; 　　(j)the term "competent authority" means: (i) with respect to Belgium, the Minister of Finance or his authorized representative; (ii) with respect to China, the Ministry of Finance or its authorized representative. 2. As regards the application of the Agreement by a Contracting State any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has under the law of that State concerning the taxes to which the Agreement applies. 　　Article 4 Resident 　　1.For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of head office or any other criterion of a similar nature. 　　2.Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, the Competent authorities of the Contracting States shall determine, by mutual agreement, of which State that individual is a resident. 　　3.Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting State in which its palce of head office is situated. 　　Article 5 Permanent Establishment 　　1.For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "permanent establishment" means a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on. 　　2.The term "permanent establishment" includes especially: 　　(a)a place of management; 　　(b)a branch; 　　(c)an office; 　　(d)a factory; 　　(e)a workshop; and 　　(f)a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural resources. 　　3.The term "permanent establishment" shall also include: 　　(a)a building site or assembly project or supervisory activities connected therewith, but only if the construction, assembly or supervisory activities last for more than 6 months; 　　(b)the furnishing of services, including consultancy services, by an enterprise through employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise for such purposes, but only where such activities continue (for the same or a connected project) within the country for a period or periods aggregating more than 6 months within any 12-month period. 　　4.Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the term" permanent establishment" shall be deemed not to include: 　　(a)the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise; 　　(b)the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery; 　　(c)the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise; 　　(d)the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of purchasing goods or merchandise or of collecting information, for the enterprise; 　　(e)the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character; 　　(f)the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character. 　　5.Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person--other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 6 applies--is acting in a Contracting State on behalf of an enterprise of the other Contracting State and has, and habitually exercises, an authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise, that enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in respect of any activities which that person undertakes for the enterprise, unless the activities of such person are limited to those mentioned in paragraph 4 which, if exercised through a fixed place of business, would not make this fixed place of business a permanent establishment under the provisions of that paragraph. 　　6.An enterprise of a Contracting State shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business. however, where the activities of such an agent are carried out exclusively or almost exclusively on behalf of that enterprise, that agent is not considered an independent agent for the purposes of this paragraph. 　　7.The fact that a company which is a resident of a Contracting State controls or is controlled by a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State, or which carries on business in that other State (whether through a permanent establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself constitute either company a permanent establishment of the other. Article 6 Income from Immovable Property 1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable property situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. 2. The term "immovable property" shall have the meaning which it has under the law of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. The term shall in any case include property accessory to immovable property, livestock and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, rights to which the provisions of general law respecting landed property apply, usufruct of immovable property and rights to variable or fixed payments as consideration for the working of, or the right to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships and aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable property. 3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use or right to use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property. 4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to the income from immovable property of an enterprise and to income from immovable property used for the performance of independent personal services. Article 7 Business Profits 1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein. If the enterprise carries on business as aforesaid, the profits of the enterprise may be taxed in the other State but only so much of them as is attributable to that permanent establishment. 2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, there shall in each Contracting State be attributed to that permanent establishment the profits which it might be expected to make if it were a distinct and separate enterprise engaged in the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently with the enterprise of which it is a permanent establishment. 3. In determining the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses so incurred, whether in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere. However, no such deduction shall be allowed in respect of amounts, if any, paid (otherwise than towards reimbursement of actual expenses) by the permanent establishment to the head office of the enterprise or any of its other offices, by way of royalties, fees or other similar payments in return for the use of patents or other rights, or by way of commission, for specific services performed or for management, or, except in the case of a banking enterprise, by way of interest on moneys lent to the permanent establishment. Similarly, no account shall be taken, in the determination of the profits of a permanent establishment, of amounts charged (otherwise than towards reimbursement of actual expenses) by the permanent establishment to the head office of the enterprise or any of its other offices, by way of royalties, fees or other similar payments in return for the use of patents or other rights, or by way of commission for specific services performed or for management, or, except in the case of a banking enterprise, by way of interest on moneys lent to the head office of the enterprise or any of its other offices. 4. Insofar as it has been customary in a Contracting State to determine the profits to be attributed to a permanent establishment on the basis of an apportionment of the total profits of the enterprise to its various parts, nothing in paragraph 2 shall preclude that State from determining the profits to be taxed by such an apportionment as may be customary; the method of apportionment adopted shall, however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the principles contained in this Article. 5. No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the enterprise. 6. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to the permanent establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year unless there is good and sufficient reason to the contrary. 7. Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Agreement, then the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article. Article 8 Shipping and Air Transport 1. Profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of head office of the enterprise is situated. 2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to profits from the participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operation agency. Article 9 Associated Enterprises Where: (a) an enterprise of a Contracting State participates directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, or (b) the same profits participate directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of a Contracting State and an enterprise of the other Contracting State, and in either case conditions are made or imposed between the two enterprises in their commercial or financial relations which differ from those which would be made between independent enterprises, then any profits which would, but for those conditions, have accrued to one of the enterprises, but, by reason of those conditions, have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly. Article 10 Dividends 1.Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. 2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident and according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State the tax so charged shall not exceed 10% of the gross amount of the dividends. This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid. 3. The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from shares or rights to participate in profits, not being debt-claims, as well as other income which is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from shares by the laws of the Contracting State of which the company making the distribution is a resident. 4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 5. Where a company which is a resident of a Contracting State derives profits or income from the other Contracting State, that other State may not impose any tax on the dividends paid by the company, except insofar as such dividends are paid to a resident of that other State or insofar as the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed base situated in that other State, nor subject the company's undistributed profits to a tax, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in such other State. Article 11 Interest 1. Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. 2. However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises and according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the interest is a resident of the other Contracting State the tax so charged shall not exceed 10% of the gross amount of the interest. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, interest arising in a Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that State, when it concerns interest paid to the account of the other Contracting State or interest paid to banking or credit institutions the capital of which is wholly owned by the other State or which are recognized by mutual agreement between the competent authorities of both Contracting State. 4. The term "interest" as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in the debtor's profits, and in particular, income from government securities and income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures. 5. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the interest, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected which such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the Provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 6. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, an administrative subdivision, a local authority or a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the interest, whether he is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated. 7. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the interest, having regard to the debt-claim for which it is paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the interest shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Agreement. Article 12 Royalties 1. Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State. 2. However, such royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10% of the gross amount of the royalties. 3. The term "royalties" as used in this Article means payments of any kind received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films and films or tapes for radio or television broadcasting, any patent, know-how, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial, or scientific equipment, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience. 4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 5. Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is the Government of that State itself, an administrative subdivision, a local authority or a resident of that Contracting State. Where, however, the person paying the royalties, whether he is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the obligation to pay the royalties was incurred, and those royalties are borne by that permanent establishment, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated. 6. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the royalties shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Agreement. Article 13 Capital Gains 1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. 2. Gains from the alienation of movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of movable property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of such fixed base, may be taxed in that other State. 3. Gains from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic or movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of head office of the enterprise is situated. 4. Gains from the alienation of shares in the capital of a company, the assets of which consist mainly, directly or indirectly, of immovable property situated in a Contracting State, may be taxed in that State. 5. Gains derived from the alienation of shares, other than those mentioned in paragraph 4 and which represent a participation of 25% in a company which is a resident of a Contracting State, may be taxed in that State. 6. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 shall be taxable in the Contracting State in which the transferred property is situated.