China’s first comprehensive chemical safety management law, implemented before the than the begin of the year and slated to take impact on 1 May, set detailed and legally binding needs for coping with hazardous chemicals. It shifts the national strategy surrounding chemical safety from what has been explained as reactive disaster response to one of proactive risk reduction, as a part of a larger effort to strengthen regulatory oversight across the nation.
The latest rule was adopted by the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress on 27 December 2025, and it applies to entities in China that produce, store, transport and use hazardous chemicals. This consists of chemical producers, pharmaceutical companies and research institutions.
From the start of next month, chemical substances and mixtures in China formally listed as dangerous, or diagnosed as hazardous, will now be needed to be registered with the Chinese government. The latest law defines ‘dangerous chemicals’ primarily based on their properties and characteristics, consisting of toxicity, corrosiveness, explosiveness and flammability. Moreover, a few exemptions might be permit for certain, unspecified hazardous chemicals used in scientific research and development.
The latest regulatory framework considerably reinforces corporate responsibilities, permit systems, transportation management, supervisory mechanisms, and legal liabilities surrounding the use of dangerous chemicals. Organisations and executives breaking the new regulations could be hit with consequences such as suspension of operations, considerable fines, or even criminal liability.
Shifting safety standards
A spokesperson for ChemLinked, a Chinese-headquartered consulting corporation that helps industries that manage regulated substances, tells Chemistry World that the latest law ‘addresses historical troubles along with management gaps in chemical industrial parks and fragmented oversight’. ‘It promotes a shift in public safety governance from reactive disaster relief to proactive prevention, aiming to remedy the root causes of industrial accidents,’ they add.
China is a big global manufacturer and user of hazardous chemicals, and numerous high-profile commercial accident have happened in the country in recent years. Since the August 2015 Tianjin explosion, which killed over 170 people and injured around 800 more, numerous other large chemical incidents have occurred in the country. These had been connected generally to lack of proper protection measures in the factories and poor implementation of protection standards by the government.
More these days, a huge blast and fire at a chemical plant in Gaomi in May 2025 killed at least 5-people and injured dozens, and in January this year an industrial explosion in northern China brought about the death 10 individuals and injuries to more than 80 others. In February, 8-people were reported to have died after an explosion at a small biotechnology corporation in Shanxi province.
The global product safety and regulatory consulting firm CIRS, headquartered in China has defined the situation regarding safety in China’s chemical industrial sector as ‘extreme’, pronouncing that ‘the current regulatory framework struggles to satisfy the safety management needs of the whole supply chain’. The organisation notes that the latest legislation ‘comprehensively strengthens the primary responsibility of enterprises involved in hazardous chemicals, increases compliance necessities throughout the complete deliver chain, strictly controls licensing access, will increase penalties for violations, and improves interdepartmental regulatory coordination and enforcement collaboration.’
