The “Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals” shall come into force on May 1, 2026

Given the grave safety implications of hazardous chemicals, the state has long adopted a stringent regulatory stance, forming the following regulatory framework:

To strengthen the legislative regulation of hazardous chemicals, the “Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals” was officially issued on December 27, 2025. This marks the upgrade of hazardous chemicals safety administration from the administrative regulation level to the law level. The new law introduces reforms in concepts, structure, liabilities, supervision and technical means to establish a sound safety governance system covering the entire life cycle of hazardous chemicals. The key points of the new law are as follows:

1.More diversified supervision methods

In the past, the primary supervision method was the enterprises’ responsibility system, where only the principal persons in charge were held liable for serious consequences. However, Article 5 of the new law stipulates the implementation of the “full staff work safety responsibility system”, the “dual prevention mechanism for hierarchical control of safety risks and hidden danger investigation and treatment”, and “work safety standardization and information-based supervision”, while emphasizing the “comprehensive responsibility system of the principal persons in charge”. The more diversified supervision methods stipulated in the new law are actually consistent with the tendency of the revised “Work Safety Law” in recent years, which is to assign more liabilities to individuals, take people as the starting point, and stimulate the motivation for prevention.

2.Source control

Previously, hazardous chemicals enterprises were encouraged to move into designated parks. The new law sets up a special chapter to regulate the planning and layout of hazardous chemicals. In short, all newly-built or expanded production projects must be located in designated parks from now on. In fact, since 2010, many provinces and cities have practically guided hazardous chemicals enterprises to relocate and formed relevant parks. However, the new law stipulates a number of hard indicators for parks, and it will be a challenge to determine whether the existing parks built in the past need to be renovated or relocated.

3.Technology-enabled supervision

With the development of information technology, the new law also incorporates technology-enabled supervision methods such as information-based supervision, automatic control, satellite positioning, and even monitoring of drivers’ driving behavior and fatigue levels.

4.Strengthened penalties

In the past, the maximum fine was CNY 1 million, the fine for most violations was below CNY 200,000, and penalties on individuals were rare. The new law not only sets fixed fine amounts, but also adds a multiple fine method based on the value of the goods. At the same time, a dual penalty system, that is, imposing penalties on both the entity and the individual, which is established for most illegal acts. This revision is also consistent with the tendency of the “Work Safety Law”.

After the implementation of the new law, the provisions of the “Regulations on the Safety Administration of Hazardous Chemicals” that do not conflict with the new law shall remain in force and must still be complied with. In the future, the relevant departments may revise and improve the “Regulations on the Safety Administration of Hazardous Chemicals” to adapt to the new safety management needs.