This document provides an overview of EHS expectations and regulations in China. It discusses the following key points: 1. China's geography, demographics, and public holidays. 2. Major EHS regulations around OHS committees, fire safety, emergency response, lighting, noise, and training. 3. Enforcement trends showing increased penalties for EHS violations. 4. Cultural nuances around women in the workplace, maternity/paternity leave, and military requirements. 5. Local issues that may affect businesses like air pollution, food safety, and water stress.

1. Michael Liang
April 2017
EHS Expectations
in China

2. 1. China Overview
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• Roughly the same size as US – 3 m sq
miles
• High Percentage of mountains and
deserts
• Arable Land – 7 % or ¼ of US arable land
• 28 provinces, 4 central controlled
municipalities, plus 2 special
administrative regions
• Languages: Mandarin plus 297 living
languages for China's 56 ethnic groups.
HK (Cantonese & English), Macau
(Cantonese & Portuguese)

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Demographics
• Approximately 1.38 billion
people;
One child policy 1979-2016;
• 70% of population located in
south and east costal regions;
• More than 200 million migrant
workers, mostly rural migrants
seeking work in cities or coastal
regions
• Han make up 94% of population
– 55 different minorities

4. Public Holidays
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2017 Chinese Public Holiday Calendar
Festival Date Legal Holidays Holidays of 2017
New Year's Day Jan 1 1 day Dec 31, 2016 – Jan 2, 2017
Spring Festival
the 1st day of the
1st lunar month
3 days
It falls on January 27, 2017.
The holiday is from January 27 to
February 2.
Women's Day Mar 8 half day for women half day of Mar 8
Qingming Festival Apr 4 1 day
It falls on Apr 4, 2017. The holiday
is from Apr 2 to 4.
May Day May 1 1 day April 29 - May 1, 2017
Youth Day May 4 half day for youth above 14 years old half day of May 4
Children's Day Jun 1 1 day for children under 13 years old Jun 1, 2017
Dragon Boat Festival
the 5th day of the
5th lunar month
1 day
It falls on May 30, 2017.
The holiday is from May 28 to 30.
Mid-Autumn Day
the 15th day of the
8th lunar month
1 day
It falls on Oct 4, 2017. The holiday
is combined with the National Day
holidays.
National Day Oct 1 3 days Oct 1 - 8, 2017

5. 2. EHS Regulations in China
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Category Regulatory
Citation
Summary
OHS
Committees
Work Safety Law
2014
The primary person in charge of a business entity shall be fully
responsible for the business entity's work safety.
 Entity with more than 100 employees require either a safety
committee or appoints full-time safe production personnel.
 Entity with less than 100 employees should appoint either a full-time
or part-time safety production personnel.
Fire Safety
Fire Protection Law
2008
The legal representative or the principally responsible person is the fire
safety responsibility person of the enterprise.
Order No. 61 of the
Ministry of Public
Security 2001
Fire inspection should be conducted at least once per month. For fire
safety priority facility, fire inspection should be conducted on daily
basis.

6. Category Regulatory Citation Summary
Emergency
Response
Fire Protection Law
2008
Establish fire safety operating procedure, develop firefighting and emergency
evacuation preparedness plan.
Order No. 61 of the Ministry
of Public Security 2001
Fire drill: once a year for general facility; every six months for fire safety priority
facility.
Lighting
Standard for Lighting Design
of Buildings
GB 50034-2013
This standard is applicable to the lighting design for the new construction,
reconstruction, or expansion of residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
Minimum 300 lx
Noise
Emission Standard for
Community Noise
GB 22337-2008
Boundary noise limits are 60 dB and 50dB at day time and night time,
respectively.
Occupational Exposure Limits
for Hazardous Agents in the
Workplace Part 2：Physical
Agents GBZ 2.2-2007
Employees with a measured 8-hour Time Weighted Average (TWA) greater than
85 dBA averaged over an 8-hour shift, on any one day, must be included in a
Hearing Conservation Program.
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7. 2. EHS Regulations in China
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Category Regulatory Citation Summary
General EHS
Training
Work Safety Law
2014
Business entities shall provide their employees with work safety
education and training to ensure that their employees have necessary
work safety knowledge, are familiar with the relevant work safety
policies and rules and safe operating procedures.
Provisions on the Safety
Training of Production and
Operation Entities
2015
The main person in charge of the entity and the work safety
management personnel thereof shall accept safety training organized
by competent authorities. The time for preliminary safety training shall
be no less than 32 teaching hours. And the retraining time each year
shall be no less than 12 teaching hours.
Safety orientation training time for newly hired employee shall be no
less than 24 teaching hours, it could be implemented internally.
Ergonomics -
Currently there are no specific laws or regulations regarding
ergonomics. A variety of national standards have been issued to
provide recommendations of ergonomics considerations on the design
of products, work environment, system etc.

8. 3. Enforcement Trends in China
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 China punished 25,164 environmental offenders in the first half of last
year, fining them more than Rmb230m and transferring 740 cases to the
police for criminal investigations, according MEP
 Over the last three years, the Chinese government has punished 33
multinational corporations for violating the nation’s environmental laws
and regulations, according to Ma Jun, director of IPE
 Multinational companies in China should be aware of increased
enforcement of EHS laws, monitoring requirements and fraud, violations
of Chinese EHS laws will be difficult to operate into China, they will face
severely punishments, pulled into “Black List” and restricted in other
business. (Fine is calculated on daily basis without ceiling)

9. 4. Cultural Nuances in China
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10. 4.1 Women in the Workplace
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• Private sector employers are reluctant to hire women
because Chinese law requires that the employer cover
maternity leave and childbirth costs; However, certain
industries prefer female workers for assumed benefits.
• According to national statistics, the ratio of male to
female migrant workers averages 2:1, and an estimated
30-40 million of the migrant women work in the cities;
• In China last year, women held 44 percent of senior
management roles in companies, according to a report
released by LinkedIn

11. 4.2 Maternity and Paternity Leave Policies
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 “National Special Rules on the Labor Protection of Female
Employees (2012)”, Order No. 619 of the State Council,
stipulates that:
 The maternity leave: 98 days. An extra 15 days in case of
Cesarean. Twin birth granted an extra maternity leave 15 days.
 Paternity leave for husband: from one to two weeks.

12. 4.3 Military Requirements
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“Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China (2011)”,
Order No. 50 of the President, Oct 29, 2011, stipulates that:
- The People's Republic of China practises a military service system which
combines conscripts with volunteers and a militia with a reserve service.
 Due to China's huge population, more volunteers than needed ones,
universal military conscription has never been enforced.
 Taiwan law provides for compulsory military service. Men between the
ages of 18 and 36 who were born in Taiwan or who have ever held a
Taiwan passport should be aware that they may be subject to
compulsory military service in Taiwan, even if they are also U.S. citizens.

13. 5. Local Issues that May Affect Businesses
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• Government Affairs & Stakeholders;
• Air Pollutions and Alerts;
• Food Safety;
• Typhoon;
• Water Stress.

14. Thank you!
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Michael Liang, Ph.D.
Executive Director, ESD China Limited
mjliang@esdchina.com.cn
Guangzhou, China
Peylina Chu, PE
Vice President, Antea Group
Peylina.chu@anteagroup.com
Boston, MA, USA