China Repeals Its Hazardous Chemicals Safety Regulation

China's State Council has repealed the Regulation on the Safe Management of Hazardous Chemicals through Decree 851, a decision published on the government's website on 5 November 2026. The decree is dated 29 October and states that it takes effect upon promulgation.

The repeal appears in item 3 of Annex 2. It concerns the regulation originally issued in 2002, revised through Decree 591 in 2011 and amended again in 2013.

Safety Law Already in Force

The repeal follows the entry into force of the Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law on 1 May 2026. The National People's Congress Standing Committee adopted that law on 27 December 2025.

Article 2 covers safety management in the production, storage, use, trading and transport of hazardous chemicals. The November repeal therefore does not remove the statutory framework governing those activities. The law's commencement date appears in Article 127.

Chinese Safety Data Sheets and Labels

Article 31 of the law requires hazardous-chemical manufacturers and importers to provide Chinese-language safety data sheets matching the chemicals they produce or import. It also requires Chinese safety labels matching the contents to be attached, printed or tied to the packaging, including outer packaging.

Both the safety data sheets and labels must comply with national standards. If manufacturers or importers identify new hazardous properties, Article 31 requires them to announce those properties immediately and revise the corresponding data sheets and labels. These obligations are set out in the law already in force, rather than newly created by the repeal decision. Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law, Article 31.