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This draft law was recently approved to be submitted to the NPCSC for deliberation.
On November 22, 2024, Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over a State Council executive meeting, which discussed the draft law on hazardous chemicals safety. This draft law was approved to be submitted to China’s top legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), for deliberation. The legislative process of the Law on Safety of Hazardous Chemicals has advanced further.
The safety management of hazardous chemicals is a top priority for preventing and mitigating major and severe accidents. The meeting emphasized the need to enhance safety management throughout the lifecycle of hazardous chemicals, including production, storage, use, operation, and transportation, to safeguard against major accidents. Furthermore, the meeting underscored the significance of improving the professional skills of industry personnel, promoting large-scale equipment upgrades, and accelerating the phase-out and renovation of outdated chemical facilities.
In China, the procedures for the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee to enact laws include four stages: proposal, deliberation, voting, and promulgation. This draft law is now in the deliberation stage. Generally, a draft law submitted to the NPCSC shall be deliberated on at three meetings of the Standing Committee. During the deliberation stage, the draft law will be sent to specialized committees or expert groups for review and further revisions may be proposed incorporating expert opinions and recommendations. Once the deliberation stage is completed, i.e., there is unanimous agreement among all parties with no significant issues requiring further study, the draft law will move to the voting stage. If a majority supports the draft, the law is approved for promulgation and will be implemented nationwide.
As legislation poised to replace the State Council Decree 591 for control of hazardous chemicals, we expect significant progress in the near future, even though the law will not be enacted soon due to the rigorous legislative procedures.
Legislation progress timeline
- In late 2017, the first draft of the Law was released, which was drafted in the wake of the 2015 Tianjin blasts.
- In June 2019, following the institutional reform of the Chinese government and the 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion, the legislation of the Law was accelerated.
- In October 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) published the third draft to solicit public comments and suggestions.
- In February 2021, some changes were made in certain specific rules of the draft law, and this version was submitted for deliberation at the executive meeting of the MEM.
- In May 2022, the MEM outlined in the “14th Five-Year Plan for Hazardous Chemicals Safety Production” that the system, mechanisms, and legal framework for preventing and mitigating major safety risks related to hazardous chemicals should be improved by 2025
- In September 2023, the NPSCS announced the five-year legislative plan, aiming to enact the law on hazardous chemicals safety within its current term (the 14th, ending by 2028).
- In May 2024, the NPCSC stated in its 2024 legislative work plan that the draft law was planned to undergo initial deliberation.
- In November 2024, the State Council executive meeting discussed and decided to submit the draft law to the NPCSC for deliberation.
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