Read GHS status of China Regulatory Region

GHS Status

China is one of the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) framework countries. Under the UN GHS framework, China started the implementation of China GHS by the adoption of State Council Decree No. 591: Regulations on Safe Management of Hazardous Chemicals issued in 2011. This regulation took effect on 1 December 2011 and applies to all legal entities based in China that are engaged in the production/manufacture, storage, use, operation, or transportation of hazardous chemicals. It imposes a duty on manufacturers and importers of chemicals to correctly classify the chemical according to UN GHS Revision 4, label hazardous chemicals in the workplace, and provide Safety Data Sheets (SDS).

Draft GB 30000.1 and GB 30000.X were notified by China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 28 August 2023 and the comment period ended on 27 October 2023. GB 30000.X for Desensitized Explosives became effective on 1 July 2024. On 24 July 2024, China officially published the final standard i.e. GB 30000.1, Rules for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals – Part 1: General Specifications which will be coming into force on 1 August 2025. When GB 30000.1 enters into force, China will adopt GHS 8 and the standard GB 13690-2009: General Rules for Classification and Hazard Communication of Chemicals, which implements GHS 4 in China, will be replaced.

GHS Classification

For GHS classification, the Governing Standards are GB 30000.2-2013 to GB 30000.29-2013. They comprise 28 standards each referring to a particular GHS hazard. The Standards were adopted based on the fourth revised edition of the UN purple book and they are fully aligned with UN GHS Revision 4. They came into force on 1 November 2014. In 2023, China added one new hazard class i.e. Desensitized Explosives, taking the standards total to 29. Below Table lists the compulsory national standards for chemical classification:

Standards	GHS Hazard
GB 30000.2-2013	Explosives
GB 30000.3-2013	Flammable gases
GB 30000.4-2013	Aerosols
GB 30000.5-2013	Oxidizing gases
GB 30000.6-2013	Gas under pressure
GB 30000.7-2013	Flammable liquids
GB 30000.8-2013	Flammable solids
GB 30000.9-2013	Self-reactive substances and mixtures.
GB 30000.10-2013	Pyrophoric liquids
GB 30000.11-2013	Pyrophoric solids
GB 30000.12-2013	Self-heating substances and mixtures
GB 30000.13-2013	Substances and mixtures which in contact with water emit flammable gases
GB 30000.14-2013	Oxidising liquids
GB 30000.15-2013	Oxidising solids
GB 30000.16-2013	Organic peroxides
GB 30000.17-2013	Corrosive to metals
GB 30000.18-2013	Acute toxicity
GB 30000.19-2013	Skin corrosion/irritation
GB 30000.20-2013	Serious eye damage/irritation
GB 30000.21-2013	Respiratory or skin sensitization
GB 30000.22-2013	Germ cell mutagenicity
GB 30000.23-2013	Carcinogenicity
GB 30000.24-2013	Reproductive toxicity
GB 30000.25-2013	Specific target organ toxicity- single exposure
GB 30000.26-2013	Specific target organ toxicity-repeated exposure
GB 30000.27-2013	Aspiration Hazard
GB 30000.28-2013	Hazardous to the aquatic environment
GB 30000.29-2013	Hazardous to the ozone layer
GB 30000.X-2023	Desensitized Explosives

Local Adaptation of GHS

The following building blocks of the GHS have not yet been adopted in China:

Flammable Gas, Category 1A
Flammable Gas, Category 1B
Flammable Gas, Category 1A (Pyrophoric gases)
Chemicals under Pressure, all categories

GHS Labelling Requirements

Like many other countries, China also has its own unique labelling requirements. The requirements are set by the Code of Practice for Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals. As of now, there are 2 main national standards related to the labelling and packaging of chemical products.

The first mandatory requirements are given in the standard GB 15258-2009, General Rules for Preparation of Precautionary Label for Chemicals, which came into force on 1 May 2010. This standard gives information about the precautionary labels, transport symbols, and precautionary statements for different categories of chemicals. It also highlights some differences with the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation:

Black frame of a pictogram is acceptable (for domestic use)
A simplified label is available for volumes below 0.1 litre
There is no requirement on the minimum size of a pictogram
There is no limit of 6 p-statements
Emergency number on the label must be a domestic 24 h emergency phone number

The second mandatory national standard is GB 190-2009, Packaging Labels for Dangerous Goods, which came into force on 1 May 2010. It was adopted based on the 15th revised edition of the UN recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. It specifies the requirements of pictogram, label size, colour, and packaging of hazardous goods.

Safety Data Sheet

The format and content of Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are set by the standard GB/T 16483-2008, Safety Data Sheet for Chemical Products: Content and Order of Sections, and the standard GB/T 17519-2013, Guidance on the Compilation of Safety Data Sheet for Chemical Products.

GB/T 16483-2008 is the pivotal standard for checking SDS compliance. It came into force in 2009, and it specifies the requirements of structure, content, and format of Safety Data Sheets in line with China GHS. GB/T 17519-2013 came into force in 2014 and provides guidelines for SDS authoring in China.

Like for the labelling requirements, a 24 h emergency phone number is also mandatory for SDSs. It must be a domestic landline number in China which can directly provide Chinese language support and technical suggestions for emergency issues.

GHS implementation status
Transport of dangerous goods	Implemented For international transport of dangerous goods, see “Implementation through international legal instruments, recommendations, codes and guidelines”. For road transport of dangerous goods, the Ministry of Transport issued announcement No.68 of 6 September 2018, on the issuance of standard JT/T/617-2018 “Regulations concerning road transportation of dangerous goods”. The revised standard takes account of the provisions of the Model Regulations and the ADR. It contains seven parts (JT/T 617.1 to JT/T 617.7) addressing: general provisions, classifications, listing of dangerous goods; use of transport packagings; consignment procedures; Conditions of carriage, loading, unloading and handling; Transport conditions and operational requirements. The standard was implemented as from 1 Dec. 2018.
Other sectors:
	On March 2011, China issued “Regulations on Safe Management on Hazardous Chemicals” (Decree 591). The Regulations entered into force on 1 December 2011 and requires companies to provide SDS and labels in accordance with the applicable national standards implementing GHS. On February 2012, AQSIQ issued announcement No.30 of 2012, starting inspection on import and export dangerous chemical products. The inspected contents include the technical requirements for GHS labels and SDS of chemicals in accordance with the applicable national standards and regulations. In 2013 China issued 28 GHS compulsory national standards (GB 30000-2013) fully aligned with GHS Rev.4. These standards replaced standards (GB 20576-2006 to GB 20602-2006) and introduced two new hazards classes: Aspiration hazard and hazardous to the ozone layer. On 24 July 2024, China officially published the final standard i.e. GB 30000.1, Rules for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals – Part 1: General Specifications which will be coming into force on 1 August 2025. When GB 30000.1 enters into force, China will adopt GHS 8 and the standard GB 13690-2009: General Rules for Classification and Hazard Communication of Chemicals, which implements GHS 4 in China, will be replaced. The 2013 version of the standards was implemented as from 1 November 2014. GB 30000.2-2013: Explosives GB 30000.3-2013: Flammable gases GB 30000.4-2013: Aerosols GB 30000.5-2013: Oxidising gases GB 30000.6-2013: Gases under pressure GB 30000.7-2013: Flammable liquids GB 30000.8-2013: Flammable solids GB 30000.9-2013: Self-reactive substances and mixtures GB 30000.10-2013: Pyrophoric liquids GB 30000.11-2013: Pyrophoric solids GB 30000.12-2013: Self-heating substances and mixtures GB 30000.13-2013: Substances and mixtures which in contact with water release flammable gases GB 30000.14-2013: Oxidizing liquids GB 30000.15-2013: Oxidizing solids GB 30000.16-2013: Organic peroxides GB 30000.17-2013: Corrosive to metals GB 30000.18-2013: Acute toxicity GB 30000.19-2013: Skin/corrosion irritation GB 30000.20-2013: Serious eye damage/irritation GB 30000.21-2013: Respiratory or skin sensitization GB 30000.22-2013: Germ cell mutagenicity GB 30000.23-2013: Carcinogenicity GB 30000.24-2013: Reproductive toxicity GB 30000.25-2013: Specific target organ toxicity-Single exposure GB 30000.26-2013: Specific target organ toxicity-Repeated exposure GB 30000.27-2013: Aspiration hazard GB 30000.28-2013: Hazardous to the aquatic environment GB 30000.29-2013: Hazardous to the ozone layer In 2023, China added one new hazard class i.e. GB 30000.X-2023: Desensitized Explosives. The following standards are also applicable: GB/T 16483–2008: Safety Data Sheet for chemical products content and order of sections (applicable as from 1 February 2009) GB/T 17519-2013 Guidance on the compilation of safety data sheets for chemical products (applicable as from 31 January 2014) GB 15258–2009: General rules for preparation of precautionary labels for chemicals (applicable as from 1 May 2010) GB 13690–2009 General rule for classification and hazard communication of chemicals (applicable as from 1 May 2010).

China - GHS Status

Tags