Chinese Regulation Suffers from 'Complexity and Tiered Authority'

The multi-tiered framework of China's chemical regulation means that "significant resources" are needed to fully understand and comply with the law, a Lubrizol manager told attendees at the recent ChemCon Asia 2017 conference in Beijing.

The main problems, said Helen Huangfu, product safety and compliance manager for the chemical group's Asia-Pacific operations, are unclear implementation rules, layers of bureaucracy and limited support for business confidentiality.

Criticism by western chemical companies operating in China - of the lack of clarity in the rules and complex bureaucracy - is not new, although they have also stressed the country's desire to improve.

China's rapidly evolving national laws, she said, generally come with "unclear requirements, lack of enforcement details and a short transition period". While regulations provide "only an outline of scope and high level requirements", with many details issued as "implementing guidance" by numerous agencies.

This contrasts with the "highly detailed content and rigid rules" typically encountered in the EU and US.

The poorly coordinated enforcement agencies apply a series of secondary ordinances with sometimes inconsistent and duplicate requirements, said Ms Huangfu. For example, Decree 591 on Hazardous Chemical Safety Management allows many agencies to set detailed rules and intervene at various stages in the lifecycle of a substance.

Consequently, said Ms Huangfu, China needs to "improve collaboration between legislators and regulatory enforcement agencies".

Another difficulty, said Ms Huangfu, is the lack of pathways supporting confidential business information. Often, she said, there is no channel to work directly with the government; the option is either to negotiate complex non-disclosure agreements with other companies or else "give up business opportunities".

But there are signs from the authorities that they are willing to engage with business, especially on scientific aspects of regulation, she added.

Noting the newness of China's chemical regulations, Ms Huangfu said the scientific basis of policy development "may not be as robust compared with the EU or the US". However, this does give business the chance to influence through "science-based discussions".