47 new chemical substances were added to China’s Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (IECSC) on January 3, 2020. They were previously notified under China’s new chemical notification system and five years have passed since they were first manufactured or imported.
The substances details can be accessed here, including chemical name, molecular formula, CAS No., environmental management categories, remarks on uses, etc. Some are listed confidentially with the generic name and serial number only.
For the 47 substances, 29 were notified under MEP Order 7 (Measures for the Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances) and the other 18 substances were notified under SEPA Order 17 (the precursor of MEP Order 7).
There is no tonnage limit after they are listed as existing chemicals in the IECSC. However, for the 6 hazardous substances of priority environmental concern notified under MEP Order 7, their uses are explicitly specified.
The IECSC serves as the basis to judge whether a substance is identified as new chemical subject to notification. It is dynamically updated. Therefore, confirmation of whether the substance of your concern falls under IECSC is essential before your entering the Chinese market.
The previous updates to the IECSC include:
28 substances added on January 14, 2019 (MEE Announcement No. 2019-1)
45 substances added on November 21, 2018 (MEE Announcement No. 2018-58)
31 substances added on March 10, 2016 (MEE Announcement No.2016-20)
China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) reopened the IECSC supplementation in June 2019 (CL News). Applications for more than 200 substances have been submitted. We can expect more new chemical substances supplemented this year (CL news).