China's Packaging Machinery Market Research Report - PMMI

13. LEGAL ISSUES
Laws and regulations concerning packaging are yet to be formulated by the state,
while the ministerial provisions and the administrative regulations protecting the
environment from plastic products pollution is being drafted by the China Economy
and Trade Commission and China Environment Protection Bureau respectively.
In China there are three regulatory levels that produce rules, which everyone in the
packaging industry must follow. They are: state level, ministry level, and company
level. The State Technology Supervision Bureau (TSB) regulates state and ministry
criteria. These are further defined as compulsory criteria and reference guidelines in
accordance with the Law of Standardization of P. R. China. The regulatory criteria
include those responsible for guaranteeing human health, human security and
property security, and those required by laws and administrative regulations, as well
as some suggested guidelines. According to the statistics up to late June 1997, there
were 678 state criteria in China, 68 of which were compulsory ones, constituting a
relatively complete system for packaging criteria.
In addition, China has been actively introducing advanced international criteria since
the 1980’s. Among the promulgated 58 basic packaging criteria, 67%, i.e. 44 have
adopted developed international criteria, and the other 14 measure up to the
international criteria for the late 1990’s.
State TSB is in charge of the supervision and administration of product quality
across the country as regulated in Product Quality Law of P.R.C. while the various
Ministries under State Council are responsible for the supervision and administration
of product quality in their special field.
There are six institutions at the state level in charge of supervision and examination
of packaging quality that have been approved by State TSB, they are: China
Packaging Scientific Research & Testing Center (Tianjin), Dalian Product Quality
Supervision & Testing Institute, Shandong Product Quality Supervision & Testing
Institute, Chengdu Product Quality Supervision & Testing Institute, Guangzhou
Product Quality Supervision & Testing Institute, and Gansu Product Quality
Supervision & Testing Institute. In addition, some Ministries, provinces and
municipalities have established relevant institutions, specifically: China Export
Commodity Packaging Institute of Foreign Economy and Trade Commission, the No.
54 Institute of North Industrial General Corp., Standardization Institution of China
Machinery Industrial Bureau, Standardization Institute of the Ministry of
Information Industry, Packaging Institute of Hunan Province, and Packaging
Institute of Chongqing Municipality.
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