China Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law and Industrial Wastewater Discharge Standards

China's Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law and the national industrial wastewater discharge standards (GB standards) are among the most strictly and rigorously enforced environmental regulations in China. They set maximum permissible limits for chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen and phosphorus, heavy metals (such as cadmium and chromium), and pH value in industrial wastewater discharged from manufacturing plants into public waters or sewer systems. In recent years, a "continuous daily penalty" system has been applied, under which fines accumulate daily until a violation is corrected, and in severe cases this can lead directly to operational suspension or criminal detention of the company's representative.