China's MIIT Seeks Comments on Internal Compliance Guidelines for Controlled Chemicals Export Control

On October 29, 2026, the Department of Work Safety of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) (the National Office for the Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, hereinafter the "National CWC Office") issued a notice to solicit public comments on the Internal Compliance Guidelines for Export Control of controlled Chemicals (Draft for Comments) (hereinafter the "Guidelines"), which the Office organized and drafted. The deadline for comments is November 29, 2026.

Scope of Application

1. Entities designated to engage in the export of Schedule I, Schedule II, and Schedule III controlled chemicals;
2. Entities that need to entrust designated entities with the export of Schedule I, Schedule II and Schedule III controlled chemicals.

Legal Framework for Controlled Chemicals

1. The Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China is the higher-level law governing the export control of controlled chemicals;
2. The Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Chemicals Subject to Supervision and Control are the principal administrative regulation for the domestic administration of controlled chemicals;
3. The Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items are the unified administrative regulation for the export control of dual-use items; where the Regulations on the Administration of controlled Chemicals contain no provisions, MIIT applies the Export Control Law and the Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items;
4. The Implementing Rules for the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Chemicals Subject to Supervision and Control specify the implementation requirements for the administration of controlled chemicals and set out the detailed implementation procedures;
5. Inventory of Chemicals Subject to Supervision and Control in China (CWC) and the List of Newly Added Substances Included in Schedule III controlled Chemicals are the primary basis for identifying and determining whether a chemical is a controlled chemical;
6. The Export Control List of Dual-Use Items is an important basis for enterprises to apply for export licenses of controlled chemicals and for MIIT to implement export administrative licensing of controlled chemicals.

Ten Elements of the Internal Compliance Mechanism

The Guidelines set out the requirements for building the internal compliance mechanism for export control of controlled chemicals in ten aspects: formulating a policy statement, establishing an organizational structure, conducting comprehensive risk assessments, strengthening compliance reviews, improving response measures, standardizing archive management, carrying out education and training, compiling a compliance manual, improving compliance audits, and advancing digital and intelligent management. Among them, top management or the principal person in charge is the first person responsible for export control compliance; compliance review covers four stages, namely pre-signing review, contract conclusion, license application and contract performance, and runs through the entire transaction process; and export-related documents must generally be archived for no less than five years.

On license administration, the Guidelines clarify that where the items to be exported are controlled chemicals subject to export control, the exporter shall submit the corresponding materials to the state authority in charge of the export control of controlled chemicals in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations on the export control of controlled chemicals, and apply to the competent commerce department under the State Council for an export license for dual-use items and technologies against the approval documents. Before lawfully obtaining the license, the exporter must not export or ship the goods, nor may it sign contracts and ship goods under the guise of "samples", "gifts" or "repair".

Supporting Self-inspection Tools

The Guidelines are accompanied by two self-inspection tools that help enterprises put the internal compliance mechanism requirements into daily transactions and management operations.

The Reference Table of Warning Behaviors for controlled Chemicals Export is designed to help enterprises identify potential export control compliance risks during due diligence. It lists a total of 23 warning behaviors in three categories:

• Regarding end users (12 items): the end user's identity is unclear; the end user is unwilling to answer questions about its identity or business dealings; the end user's information cannot be found through normal channels such as registration authorities, websites or trader directories; the customer's information is identical or similar to individuals or entities on China's control list and other lists of prohibited or restricted transactions, or on the United Nations sanctions lists; new end users come from countries or regions with high proliferation risks; the ordering method differs from general commercial practice; the end user refuses to provide end-user and end-use certificates issued by the government of the importing country or its entrusted agency; the end user evades questions about, or is unclear whether, the products it purchases will be used in its own country or for re-export; the end user is vague about the production methods of the controlled chemicals to be purchased and about downstream products; the end user is willing to pay cash or a price significantly above the market level; the end user insists on purchasing without understanding the product's performance and characteristics; the end user refuses to receive normal production and use training.
• Regarding products (6 items): the performance of the controlled chemicals ordered does not match the end user's business scope; the normal use does not match the declared use; the type and specifications are seriously inconsistent with the industrial or scientific research level of the end user's country; the end user requests key technical parameters beyond the standard configuration, which may be used to enhance the capacity to produce chemical weapons; the end user requests configurations that are generally unnecessary (such as excess spare parts); the end user attempts to purchase low-concentration mixed controlled chemicals for which China has announced exemptions, but the use or packaging method is suspicious.
• Regarding transport and delivery (5 items): the actual concentration of the controlled chemicals is not truthfully declared in the specification and model fields of the customs declaration; the final destination is inconsistent with the end user's address, or the goods pass through high-risk regions or countries without a reasonable explanation; unusual confidentiality requirements are raised concerning the transport route, labels or packaging (such as a request to conceal the true category of the controlled chemicals); the delivery address is too vague (such as only a port city name without a specific plant address); the delivery destination is too unusual (such as a delivery point located in a sensitive region or country with a history of chemical weapons production).

If an enterprise checks "Yes" for any behavior, this is deemed the emergence of a warning signal, and it shall immediately suspend the transaction process and initiate a compliance review, or consult and verify with the provincial-level competent department of industry and information technology.

Another annex to the Guidelines, the Audit Reference Checklist, lists check items in ten parts corresponding to the main links of the internal compliance mechanism: formulating a policy statement, establishing an organizational structure, conducting comprehensive risk assessments, strengthening compliance reviews, data declaration, improving response measures, standardizing archive management, carrying out education and training, compiling a compliance manual, and improving compliance audits. Each check item has four columns: "Yes", "No", "Recommendations," and "Next Steps". The checklist breaks the ten elements down into specific implementation requirements. For example, the archive management part requires enterprises to clarify the archiving responsibilities of each department and designate dedicated personnel, to keep archives for no less than five years, and to keep in full 13 categories of documents, including specifications of exported products, commercial transaction documents, end-user and end-use certificates, and license application and approval materials; the education and training part requires designing training courses according to job responsibilities and testing training effectiveness through on-site examinations and irregular spot checks.

According to the instructions for completing the form, where an enterprise checks "No" for any check item, it shall fill in improvement measures in the "Recommendations" column and specify the responsible person and the completion deadline in the "Next Steps" column. The checklist also notes that the table cannot cover all relevant issues, and enterprises may, on this basis and in light of their own circumstances, establish audit tables suited to their own characteristics.

ChemRadar Insights

ChemRadar reminds relevant enterprises to pay attention to this consultation and to the subsequent implementation requirements of the Guidelines:

1. The deadline for this consultation is November 29, 2026. Enterprises engaged in the export of controlled chemicals may, within the feedback period, submit comments by completing the Feedback Form under their real names and sending it to the National CWC Office.
2. Although the Guidelines are still a draft for comments, they already convey a clear regulatory direction: compliance review must cover the entire transaction process, license application must be completed before export, and end-user and end-use management will be strictly enforced. Relevant exporters can check their existing internal compliance mechanisms against the ten elements and improve their organizational structures, review processes, and archive management systems in advance.
3. Enterprises are advised to make good use of the two self-inspection tools and embed compliance self-inspection into daily operations:

• • Embed the Reference Table of Warning Behaviors for controlled Chemicals Export into the transaction screening process, checking item by item against the 23 warning behaviors in the three categories of end users, products, and transport and delivery;
  • Once any warning behavior is matched, immediately suspend the transaction process and initiate a compliance review, or consult and verify with the provincial-level competent department of industry and information technology;
  • Check the implementation of the internal compliance system item by item against the ten parts of the Audit Reference Checklist;
  • For items checked "No" during self-inspection, promptly specify improvement measures, responsible persons, and completion deadlines, so as to form a closed-loop rectification and reduce the risk of non-compliant export.

Further information

Gov.