From February 6, 2020, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade issued free certificates of force majeure facts to companies affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. By February 14, it had issued 1,615, covering contracts worth about 109.9 billion yuan. A company could use one to ask a partner for partial or full release from liability.
The certificate did not settle the matter. A news report that month noted that a company whose notice was rejected still had to prove that the impact “could not be overcome.”