• In order to guide and promote business operators to strengthen anti-monopoly compliance management, enhance their ability and level of anti-monopoly compliance risk prevention, maintain a fair competition market order, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of business operators, the State Council's Anti-Monopoly and Anti Unfair Competition Commission has revised the Guidelines on Anti-Monopoly Compliance for Business Operators.
• The revision of the National Technical Specification for the Safety of Electrical Equipment (GB19517-2023) is mainly aimed at minimizing the risk of damage to life, health, and property during product design, manufacturing, sales, and use of electrical equipment, and achieving an acceptable level.
• The Measures for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permit has been gazetted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, aim to strengthen the management of pollutant discharge permits, standardize the pollutants discharge behaviors of enterprises, institutions and other producers and operators, control the discharge of pollutants, and protect and improve the ecological environment.
• Updated Minimum Wage Standard of Liaoning Province, and Heilongjiang Province.

Business Ethics

< Guidelines on Anti-Monopoly Compliance for Business Operators >

Health and Safety

< National Technical Specification for the Safety of Electrical Equipment >

Environment

< Measures for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permit >

Minimum Wage Standard Update

Liaoning Province,  Heilongjiang Province

Business Ethics

1. < Guidelines on Anti-Monopoly Compliance for Business Operators> (2024-04-25)

The Guidelines on Anti-Monopoly Compliance for Business Operators (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines) were gazetted by the State Council's Anti-Monopoly and Unfair Competition Commission on 25^th April 2024. These Guidelines only provide general guidelines for operators' anti-monopoly compliance and are not mandatory. The industry associations may, with reference to this Guidelines, organize the formulation of reference rules for anti-monopoly compliance management in their own industries, guide operators in their own industries to compete and operate in compliance with the law, and maintain the order of market competition. The newly revised Guidelines highlight the following directions:

• More issue-oriented. The Guidelines encourage operators to grasp the business areas, work processes, and job positions that may pose anti-monopoly compliance risks based on industry characteristics and market competition conditions, and to carry out targeted anti-monopoly compliance management. Based on anti-monopoly laws and regulations and business operation scenarios, to provide clear reminders on compliance risks that may arise from specific activities of operators such as product pricing, industry exchanges, upstream and downstream cooperation, operator concentration, and acceptance of anti-monopoly investigations and reviews, to add guiding hypothetical cases, to strengthen "scenario based" guidance, and enhance the guidance of the Guidelines.
• More practice-oriented. The Guidelines encourages operators based on their own realities, to establish compliance management systems that are suitable for their own actual development stages and capabilities, and to institutionalize effective compliance management practices explored by enterprises in recent years. It emphasizes the implementation of compliance responsibilities in various fields and links, and provides specific guidance on relevant compliance management principles, compliance management organization, and compliance management responsibilities, providing clearer and more operational reference practices for enterprises to establish a sound anti-monopoly compliance management system.
• More prominent incentive orientation. Based on legal provisions such as the Anti-Monopoly Law and the Administrative Penalty Law, the Guidelines connects enterprises to strengthen active compliance with administrative penalty discretion, leniency system, and suspension of investigation system, and make provisions on how to evaluate the authenticity, completeness, and effectiveness of enterprise compliance system, strengthens compliance incentives.

Health and Safety

1. < National Technical Specification for the Safety of Electrical Equipment> (GB19517-2023) (2024-06-01)

The National Technical Specification for the Safety of Electrical Equipment (GB19517-2023) (hereinafter referred to as the Specification) was jointly issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Administration on 23^rd May 2023, and will come into force on 1^st June 2024; The original National Technical Specification for the Safety of Electrical Equipment (GB19517-2009) is simultaneously abolished. The relevant revisions change to the Specification are as follows:

• The application scope of the Specification has been changed from AC rated voltage of 1200V to AC rated voltage of 1000V, while the DC voltage remains at 1500V.
• The Specification adjusts the part of safety technical requirements and inspection.
• The Specification adds normative reference documents, terminology and definitions, and safety project requirements.
• The implementation and supervision chapter and normative appendices A and B in the GB19517-2009 have been removed from the Specification.

Environment

1. < Measures for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permit > (2024-07-01)

The Measures for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permit (hereinafter referred to as the Measures) has been gazetted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on 1^st April 2024, it will come into force on 1^st July 2024. The Measures for Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permit (Trial) gazetted by the former Environmental Protection Department will be abolished on the same date.  The focus of revision is summarized as follows:

• Include pollutant discharge registration units in the scope of management. In accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permit, the pollutant discharge registration units are included in the scope of management, and the contents, process provisions and main responsibility requirements of pollutant discharge registration are added, which has guiding significance for strengthening the management of pollutant discharge registration units.
• Standardize the management process. In accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permit, detail the relevant descriptions of the application materials for emission permits that have been fully demonstrated and useful in the approval process of some examination and approval departments. Refine the approval process and approval time limit requirements, put forward technical assessment requirements, increase the approval process for re-application and submission of materials requirements, and refine the relevant procedures and time limits for continuation and change of each situation.
• Refine the content of supervision according to the permit. In accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permit, strengthen the routine management of permitted pollutant discharge units and pollutant discharge registration unit, strengthen the interim and ex post supervision on pollutant discharge permitting, add specific requirements and regulations for supervision and enforcement on (permit) implementation report, strengthen the quality verification requirement of pollutant discharge permit, and promote the implementation of "one-permit" management.

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