China Chemical Substances & Product Safety Domain

China RoHS -- formally the "Administrative Measures for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products" -- restricts the use of hazardous substances (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBB, and PBDE) in electrical and electronic products manufactured and sold in China. While the regulatory framework resembles EU RoHS, China RoHS has a distinctive feature: product categories listed on the "Catalogue for Compliance Management" are subject to mandatory conformity assessment (similar to CCC certification) administered by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CNCA). The first phase mandated information disclosure (SJ/T 11364 marking), and the second phase progressively applies substance-content restrictions to specific product categories.

A registration system aimed at managing the environmental risk of new chemical substances in China. Companies introducing new chemical substances to the Chinese market are required to register before manufacturing or import, undergo environmental risk assessment, and manage the substance's intended use. Strengthened chemical management requires companies to manage chemical substance information across their entire supply chain. Registrations are classified into "simplified registration," "regular registration," and "filing," with new substances not listed on the IECSC (Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China) subject to strict notification and registration requirements.

China's Action Plan for the Management of New Pollutants (announced in 2022) is a comprehensive management framework covering "new pollutants" -- persistent organic pollutants (POPs), endocrine disruptors, antibiotics, and other substances posing significant risks to ecosystems and human health. The Chinese government is strengthening lifecycle management of chemical substances and advancing risk-assessment-based reduction and prohibition measures. The plan aims to build monitoring systems across the entire production, use, and emission process, promote development of substitute substances, and reduce environmental risk, requiring manufacturers and importers to maintain strict supply-chain management and reporting obligations.

China's "Regulations for the Reduction and Management of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions" is a comprehensive, national-level regulatory framework aimed at preventing air pollution. It covers major industrial sectors (petrochemicals, coating, packaging and printing, etc.), tightening emission standards, mandating a shift to raw materials with low VOC content in manufacturing processes, and requiring the installation of emissions monitoring systems. Management is required across the entire supply chain from manufacturing through distribution to disposal, and violations carry the risk of administrative penalties or suspension of operations, making proper management essential not only for local production sites but also for importers and exporters.

China's "Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals" (State Council Decree No. 591, commonly known as "Decree 591") is China's most fundamental hazardous-chemicals law, uniformly governing the safety management of all stages of production, storage, use, sale, and transport of hazardous chemicals within China, as well as their import and export. First enacted in 1987 and revised in 2002 (Decree No. 344), it underwent a major overhaul that dramatically tightened safety standards and enforcement power, resulting in the current "Decree 591" (effective December 1, 2011). It is a core regulatory requirement for any company exporting to or selling locally in China products falling under the "Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals" (roughly 2,800 substances with hazardous properties), including inks, paints, adhesives, and cleaning agents. Core obligations for manufacturers and importers under Decree 591 include: (1) Mandatory "national safety registration" of hazardous chemicals -- companies manufacturing hazardous chemicals in China, and importers bringing them into China, must submit detailed hazard data and emergency contact information to the Chemical Registration Center (NRCC) under China's national emergency management authority and complete "hazardous chemicals registration"; (2) Mandatory listing of a "24-hour China-based emergency phone number" on SDS -- the first section of any SDS intended for the Chinese market must list a China-based emergency contact number capable of providing technical support 24 hours a day (either the company's own number or that of an agency such as the NRCC); overseas phone numbers, including Japanese ones, are not accepted under any circumstances; (3) Obtaining a "hazardous chemicals business license" -- companies selling or warehousing hazardous chemicals through a local Chinese entity must meet strict facility safety requirements and obtain a hazardous chemicals business license.