According to news.china.com, the Ministry of Taxation recently issued a notice that stated that, starting in September 2018, China will join one hundred countries to collect banking information on non-resident individuals or enterprises and will exchange the information with the tax authorities in the account holders’ country of residence. In return China will gain banking information on Chinese residents who hold bank accounts in foreign countries. The effort is part of a global standard on the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI). The purpose of the program, which was launched in July 2014, is to reduce the possibility for tax evasion. According to the article, the Ministry of Taxation will come up with its own regulations based on the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Financial Institutions are required to change their work process and to complete a system upgrade to conform to the new requirements. According to the article, starting in 2017, individuals and businesses will be required to fill out their residence of taxation information when they open a new bank account.
Source: news.China.com, October 17, 2016 http://news.china.com.cn/world/2016-10/17/content_39501405.htm