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China’s New Environmental Code: What It Means for REACH and RoHS Compliance

This blog was originally posted on 7th May, 2026. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.

AUTHORED BY VALENTINA MARCHETTI, SENIOR REGULATORY COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST & TEAM LEAD AND LYNN CHIAM, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST, COMPLIANCE & RISKS

The adoption of China’s Ecological and Environmental Code on March 12, 2026, marks a fundamental shift in the country’s regulatory landscape—and a step change in compliance risk for the chemicals and electronics sectors.

Effective August 15, 2026, China will shift away from a fragmented, administrative framework to a unified, high-deterrence legal system. For companies operating in or exporting to China, this is not just a structural reform; it raises the stakes on liability, enforcement, and supply chain accountability.

From Fragmentation to a Unified Compliance Framework

The new Code consolidates 10 major environmental laws into a single statutory system of 1242 articles, creating a comprehensive legal foundation covering pollution control, climate, biodiversity, and resource management.

Crucially, it elevates chemical and product compliance regimes—previously governed by ministerial rules—to national law. This shift significantly increases both their legal authority and enforcement potential, moving them to a supreme statutory level for the first time.

REACH-Style Compliance: Now a Statutory Obligation

The Code embeds a lifecycle approach to chemical management, transforming existing requirements into binding legal obligations under Book II, Sub-division 9, Chapter 34 (Articles 644–652), “Chemical Substance Pollution Risk Control”. Key developments include:

Formalised “New Pollutant” Control (Art. 645, 649): The introduction of a state-controlled list of priority pollutants enables direct restrictions or bans on high-risk substances, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
Information Disclosure (Art. 647): Enterprises must provide data on the physical and chemical properties, quantities, uses, hazards, and emissions of chemical substances
Mandatory Registration (Art. 650): Registration of new chemical substances is now codified as a formal legal requirement. Pre-market approval becomes a cornerstone of compliance.
Prohibition of Non-compliant New Chemical Substances (Art. 651): Manufacturers are prohibited from producing or importing new chemical substances that lack the proper registration certificate.

RoHS-Style Compliance: From Standards to Enforceable Law

The Code also strengthens hazardous substance controls for electrical and electronic products (EEPs), giving legal force to what was previously a standards-driven regime.

Mandatory Lifecycle Green Design (Art. 972): Under the Green and Low-Carbon Development Book, electrical and electronic products, motor vehicles and other similar products must be designed to minimize hazardous substances and prioritize non-toxic, recyclable solutions from the outset.
Material Labelling (Art. 969): This article requires manufacturers of large mechanical and electrical equipment to label the standard material grades of key components of their products.
Mandatory Recycling Systems (Art. 978): Producers of electrical and electronic products, motor vehicles, and batteries must establish a waste recycling system for used products that matches their sales volume.
Stronger Legal Link to Technical Standards: Mandatory standards (such as the forthcoming GB 26572-2025) now operate under the authority of the Code. This allows authorities to apply the Code’s severe penalty framework to EEPs that fail technical substance limits.

A New Enforcement Reality: From Low Fines to High Deterrence

The most immediate impact for companies is the dramatic escalation in penalties. The Code replaces the relatively modest administrative fines of the past with deterrents aligned with the true cost of environmental risk.

Key Penalty Changes Under the 2026 Code

Regulatory Violation	Relevant Article	New Penalty Regime (Post-Aug 2026)
Information Disclosure Failures (RoHS Marks)	Art. 1110	RMB 20,000 to RMB 200,000; refusal to correct leads to production restrictions.
New Substance Production/Import without Registration or Violating Registration Certificate Conditions	Art. 1206, 1207	Fines from RMB 200,000 to RMB 1,000,000; if rectification is refused, fines between RMB 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 and order to restrict or suspend production for rectification works; if the case is severe, reported to the relevant department and an order to cease production.
Violation of Key Pollutant Restrictions	Art. 1205	RMB 100,000 to RMB 500,000; if not corrected, up to RMB 1,000,000 and order to restrict or suspend production for rectification works; if the case is severe, reported to the relevant department and an order to cease production.
Non-compliant “Phased-out” Products (RoHS)	Art. 1222	Confiscation of illegal gains plus fines of 1x to 5x the value of the goods; if the case is severe, reported to the relevant department, and an order to cease production.

In addition to corporate penalties, the Code introduces personal and operational liability:

Personal Financial Liability (Art. 1236): Fines of up to 50% of annual income for responsible individuals in the event of serious accidents.
Administrative Detention (Art. 1108): Public security authorities may detain the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel for 5–15 days for evasion of supervision or tampering with compliance data.

Critical Deadlines to Watch

Companies should align their compliance programs with two converging milestones:

August 15, 2026: Entry into force of the Ecological and Environmental Code and its high-deterrence penalty regime.

August 1, 2027: Mandatory implementation of GB 26572-2025, including expanded restrictions on 10 substances (now including four phthalates).Products manufactured after the 2027 deadline that fail to meet these limits risk being classified as “prohibited products,” triggering the severe penalties under Article 1222.

Conclusion: The End of Low-Stakes Compliance

China’s 2026 Ecological and Environmental Code fundamentally reshapes the compliance landscape. By elevating REACH- and RoHS-style requirements to statutory law, it transforms environmental compliance from a procedural obligation into a core business risk.

The introduction of the new Ecological and Environmental Code in China mandates a fundamental shift in compliance strategy. With strict measures like the prohibition of non-compliant new chemical substances (Art. 651), requirements for lifecycle design (Art. 972), and hefty million-RMB penalties, companies can no longer manage compliance in isolated functions. Companies that move early—by strengthening supply chain due diligence and integrating substance management into product development—will be better positioned to adapt. Those who delay may find the cost of non-compliance far higher than before.