• The Ministry of Finance issues the Assurance Business Standard on Sustainability Information No. 6101 - Basic Standard (Trial) to facilitate ESG information disclosure.
• The Administrative Measures for Special Anti-Money Laundering Preventive Measures officially implemented, aiming to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and to regulate special anti-money laundering preventive measures.
• To strengthen environmental management of solid waste, protect the environment, and safeguard human health, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and State Administration for Market Regulation have jointly gazetted the GB 34330-2025 Identification Standards for Solid Wastes General Rules.
• The Safety Law of the People's Republic of China on Hazardous Chemicals was approved by Session of the Standing Committee of the 14^th National People's Congress, aims to strengthen the safety management of hazardous chemicals, prevent and reduce hazardous chemical accidents, safeguard people's health, life safety and property safety, and protect the ecological environment.
• The Measures on Administrative Penalties for Violations of Safe Production was approved by Ministry of Emergency Management of PRC, aims to better adapt to current needs of administrative law enforcement work in work safety, punish illegal acts in work safety in accordance with law, strictly regulate the administrative punishment procedures for work safety, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations.

Comprehensive

• < Assurance Business Standard on Sustainability Information No. 6101 - Basic Standard (Trial) >
• < Administrative Measures for Special Anti-Money Laundering Preventive Measures >

Environment

• GB 34330-2025 < Identification Standards for Solid Wastes General Rules >

Health and Safety

• < Safety Law of the People's Republic of China on Hazardous Chemicals > 
• < Measures on Administrative Penalties for Violations of Safety Production >

Comprehensive

1.  < Assurance Business Standard on Sustainability Information No. 6101 - Basic Standard (Trial) > (2026-01-09)

On 9^th January 2026, the Ministry of Finance officially issued the Assurance Business Standard on Sustainability Information No. 6101 - Basic Standard (Trial) (Hereinafter referred to as the Standard) with the aim of regulating and guiding third-party intermediaries such as accounting firms in conducting assurance services on sustainability information and enhancing the quality of ESG information disclosure.

This Standard applies to the assurance of sustainability information compiled by the assured entity in accordance with corporate sustainability disclosure standards and other relevant guidelines. It covers all or part of the sustainability information, with the assurance level divided into reasonable assurance and limited assurance. Reasonable assurance provides assurance opinions in a positive manner, reducing risks to an acceptably low level; limited assurance, on the other hand, offers opinions in a negative manner, with a relatively higher risk level, yet still providing meaningful assurance.

The Standard emphasizes that assurance institutions should implement quality management, adhere to professional ethics requirements, maintain independence, and execute assurance services with high quality. Meanwhile, it sets out clear requirements for the entire process of assurance services, including acceptance, planning, execution, and report issuance, ensuring that assurance work follows established procedures.

Currently, the Standard is in the provisional stage. Before the scope of implementation and requirements are clarified, institutions conducting assurance services on sustainability information are encouraged to implement it voluntarily. The issuance of this Standard will prompt enterprises to improve their ESG governance, enhance information transparency, and provide strong support for the sustainable development of the economy, society, and the environment.

2. < Administrative Measures for Special Anti-Money Laundering Preventive Measures > (2026-02-16)

On 13^th January 2026, eight departments including the People's Bank of China jointly issued the Administrative Measures for Special Anti-Money Laundering Preventive Measures (hereinafter referred to as the Measures), which came into effect on 16^th February 2026. The Measures establish a more rigorous and targeted regulatory framework in the field of anti-money laundering, setting out clear and detailed requirements for financial institutions and specific non-financial institutions.

The Measures focus on three categories of key entities, namely terrorist organizations, organizations subject to targeted financial sanctions, and organizations with significant money laundering risks. In response to these entities, financial institutions and specific non-financial institutions are required to implement a series of special preventive measures, including but not limited to ceasing to provide financial services to them to cut off potential money laundering channels at the source, and strictly restricting the transfer of related funds to prevent the flow of illicit funds within the financial system and ensure the legality and transparency of fund flows.

While ensuring compliance, the Measures also emphasize the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of bona fide third parties. Considering the complex situations that may arise in practical operations, an objection relief mechanism has been established to provide reasonable appeal channels for bona fide third parties, ensuring that the rights and interests of all parties are balanced and protected during the advancement of anti-money laundering efforts.

The implementation of the Measures aims to strengthen anti-money laundering supervision, maintain the stability of the financial order, providing solid institutional support to ensure financial security and social stability. It encourages financial institutions and specific non-financial institutions to strictly comply with anti-money laundering regulations and fulfill their corresponding social responsibilities during their operations.

Environment

1. GB 34330-2025 < Identification Standards for Solid Wastes General Rules > (2026-03-01)

The GB 34330-2025 Identification Standards for Solid Wastes General Rules (hereinafter referred to as the Standards) has been jointly gazetted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the State Administration for Market Regulation on 14^th November 2025, which came into force on 1^st March 2026, and the previous Identification Standards for Solid Wastes General Rules (GB 34330-2017) was abolished on the same date.

1) Background of the revision of the Standards

• The environmental management of solid waste is being gradually standardized, and the demand for attribute identification of enterprise by-products is increasing. However, there are deviations in the attribute determination of some by-products, and there are even cases of illegally transferring solid waste under the guise of " side products".
• The safety issues of products produced from solid waste are gradually emerging. The hazardous substances in some of these products are lacking control, leading to significant environmental risks during subsequent use. It is necessary to further clarify the conditions for converting solid waste into products.
• The rapid development of new business forms such as bonded maintenance and bonded remanufacturing in China has brought about issues regarding the attribute identification of imported materials and parts.

2) Main contents of the revision of the Standards

• The revision focuses on clarifying the two most critical relationships in solid waste identification: "by-product" vs. "side product" and "waste" vs. "used". On one hand, the General Rules specify the conditions for classifying by-products generated alongside the target product during production as "side products", addressing the common challenges in by-product identification prevalent in China's solid waste management. On the other hand, in response to the current ambiguity in determining "loss of original use value", the distinction between "waste" and "used" has been refined. This reduces misjudgment of materials that are "used but not waste" and promotes the compliant circulation of second-hand products.
• This revision further clarifies the "conversion condition", that is, the specific judgement condition that need to be met for transforming into "product". Based on the 2017 edition of the General Rules, this revision has mainly improved in three aspects:
  • It explicitly defines the quality standards applicable to product judgment and the pollution control requirements during the production process,
  • It refines the methodology for assessing whether the product may cause secondary pollution,
  • It clarifies clear discrimination rules for scenarios such as "ineffective utilization" and "exceeding market demand".

3) Specific Implementation Measures for the Standards

• Ecological environment departments at all levels should prioritize implementation and strengthen supervision. They shall organize study and dissemination activities targeting enterprises and grassroots law enforcement personnel to help them accurately grasp the key revision points and new regulatory requirements. Meanwhile, based on the updated standards, they must promptly identify categories of solid waste within their jurisdictions that may undergo changes in regulatory classification and make corresponding adjustments to management measures.
• Relevant enterprises should proactively adapt to the new regulations and conduct self-inspections strictly in accordance with the standards. In particular, enterprises involved in by-product resource utilization, cross-regional or cross-border transfer, and other related businesses must promptly conduct solid waste attribute identification for substances with uncertain classification to ensure compliance of their business operations.

Health and Safety

1. < Safety Law of the People's Republic of China on Hazardous Chemicals > (2026-05-01)

The Safety Law of the People's Republic of China on Hazardous Chemicals (hereinafter referred to as the Safety Law) was adopted by the 19^th Session of the Standing Committee of the 14^th National People's Congress on 27^th December 2025. It will come into effect on 1^st May 2026. The relevant contents are as follows:

1) The Safety Law emphasizes that the safety management of hazardous chemicals shall follow the principle that "those in charge of an industry must be responsible for safety, those in charge of the business must be responsible for safety, and those in charge of production and operation must be responsible for safety".

2) The Safety Law requires hazardous chemical facilities to implement a full-staff safety production responsibility system, establish a dual prevention mechanism for safety risk classification control and safety hazard investigation and treatment, and establish and improve safety management regulations and job safety responsibility systems.

3) The Safety Law covers the entire chain and all links of hazardous chemicals, systematically stipulates, and clearly requires the basic systems for the identification of hazardous characteristics of chemicals, as well as the registration, production, storage, use, operation, transportation, and emergency rescue of hazardous chemicals.

4) The Safety Law integrates the concept of risk prevention throughout its provisions and makes specific provisions for safety hazard investigation, risk assessment, early warning, and monitoring, emphasizing accident prevention and long-term governance.

5) The Safety Law makes general provision for the aspects where other laws, regulations and standards already have specific stipulations in the management of hazardous chemicals. It ensures compatibility with other laws and regulations, forming a synergy and leaving room for further practical exploration.

2. < Measures on Administrative Penalties for Violations of Safety Production > (2026-02-01)

The Measures on Administrative Penalties for Violations of Safety Production (hereinafter referred to as the Measures) were deliberated and adopted at the 29^th ministerial meeting of the Ministry of Emergency Management of PRC on 24^th November 2025. They are hereby promulgated and has come into force on 1^st February 2026. The previous Measures on Administrative Penalties for Violations of Safety Production which was promulgated by the former State Administration of Work Safety on 30^th November 2007, and amended on 2^nd April 2015, has been abolished simultaneously. The main revisions to this Measures are as follows:

1) The Measures add a core positioning of protecting legitimate rights and interests, explicitly establishing a punishment system based on the Administrative Compulsion Law. This not only strengthens the deterrence of illegal behaviors but also emphasizes procedural justice and avoids arbitrary law enforcement.

2) The Measures streamline and consolidate the eight types of penalties in the old version into six types, remove redundant provisions while add four new types of penalties: notification of criticism, downgrading of qualification level, restriction of production and operation, and restriction of employment.

3) The Measures clarify the time limits and jurisdiction for law enforcement. In combination with actual case-handling needs, the deadline for initiating and imposing penalties has been adjusted to within 90 days after the case is filed. In exceptional circumstances, with approval, this deadline can be extended to 180 days. This not only avoids protracted delays but also reserves sufficient time for the investigation and evidence collection of complex cases.

4) The Measures specify aggravating circumstances such as violations, refusal to rectify major safety hazard, falsification of evidence, and obstruction of law enforcement under emergency conditions. Focuses on key risk points in production safety, intensifies punishment for illegal acts with malicious intent and serious harmful consequences, and conveys a regulatory attitude of strict punishment for chaos. At the same time, clearly specify circumstances of mitigation, reduction, and exemption from punishment. For minor violations that are promptly corrected and have no harmful consequences, no punishment will be imposed according to law, reflecting the legal principle of “penalty is commensurate”.

Drafted by:
Henry Wang
Feeling Pan
Darrel Chen

Translation Reviewed by:
Kiwi Fu

Approved by:
Paul Shi