Proposed Revisions to China's Product Quality Law: Key Highlights

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) of China unveiled the Draft for Public Comments of the Law of Product Quality on October 18, 2023. The deadline is Saturday, November 18, 2023.

Originally published on February 22, 1993, with subsequent minor revisions in 2000, 2009, and 2018, this draft introduces significant changes in response to evolving market demands. These adaptations aim to regulate new business models and accommodate consumer requirements, such as those in e-commerce, online third-party platforms, service providers, product recall procedures, and supply chain tracking systems.

The draft law is structured into six chapters:

1.    General provisions

2.    Product quality obligations for operators (including producers, sellers, and other operators)

3.    Project quality supervision

4.    Quality promotion and quality infrastructure

5.    Legal liabilities

6.    Supplementary provisions

Moreover, the draft encourages active engagement from the central government in international quality activities. This includes co-development, sharing, and interconnecting of quality infrastructure elements like metrology, standards, certification, accreditation, inspection, and testing. Additionally, it promotes international exchanges and cooperation.

Notable highlights of the draft encompass:

·      Introduction of quality prerequisites for imported products, encompassing labeling and safety requirements.

·      Imposition of additional responsibilities on all stakeholders, encompassing reporting quality and safety incidents, initiating defective product recalls, and ensuring complete supply chain traceability.

·      Introduction of a new section focusing on "other operators," outlining their quality obligations and liabilities. This category covers product storage and transportation operators, both online and offline third-party platform service providers, and operators in the service industry.

·      Distinction between "special consumer goods" and "general products" in the Quality Supervision chapter. This differentiation results in stricter supervision, standard requirements, safety assessments, and inspections for products utilized by specific demographic groups.

·      The catalogs of special consumer goods will be determined and published by the market supervision and administration department of the State Council, in conjunction with other relevant departments.

·      Furthermore, a new chapter on Quality Promotion and Quality Infrastructure (Chapter 4) encourages stakeholders to engage in both basic and advanced research on quality technology. This chapter also emphasizes the importance of comparing and analyzing domestic and international standards related to core technologies, nurturing talent, and developing regulatory and procurement support at all levels of government.

The Chinese version of the draft is 

https://www.bestao-consulting.com/detail?id=1578&status=bestao_library

The English version of the draft is 

https://www.bestao-consulting.com/detail?id=1581&status=bestao_library