Entering China
From March, a number of new regulations will be officially implemented, covering medical treatment, cultural relics protection, market supervision, new energy vehicles and other fields.
Among them, China’s first new energy vehicle safety inspection standard was officially implemented, bringing new vehicle annual inspection regulations for car owners. Mandatory product certification management has also been implemented for electric vehicle power supply equipment, involving fixed charging piles, mobile charging facilities, etc.
In addition, the phenomenon of “shortage of catties and shortages” in the bazaar will also be governed, and the new regulations will introduce the integrity measurement into the supervision and management of the bazaar for the first time, and increase the punishment of measurement violations.
It is worth mentioning that the newly revised Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics has also been officially implemented, which clearly adds the legal provisions that reserve the right to recover cultural relics illegally lost abroad, and this right is not limited by the statute of limitations.
Public hospitals across the country have cancelled outpatient advance payments
From March 2025, public medical institutions across the country will completely cancel the advance payment of outpatient services, and refund the fees previously paid by patients within a limited time.
This policy aims to reduce the financial burden on patients, especially for people with chronic diseases and the elderly who need frequent medical visits. At the same time, the prepayment amount for hospitalization of medical insurance patients will also be reduced to the average level of individual out-of-pocket payment for the same disease, further alleviating the pressure on patients’ prepayment funds.
The first annual inspection standard for new energy vehicles was implemented
The national standard “Regulations for the Inspection of the Operational Safety Performance of New Energy Vehicles” will be officially implemented on March 1, 2025. This is China’s first safety testing standard specifically for new energy vehicles.
The core focus of the new regulations is the safety testing of power batteries for new energy vehicles. Power batteries will be subject to more rigorous scrutiny to ensure that there are no potential safety risks in the use of the vehicle. For diesel-electric hybrid vehicles, exhaust gas testing items are added to make them consistent with the annual inspection standards for fuel vehicles.
Compulsory product certification is implemented for electric vehicle power supply equipment
According to the announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation on the implementation of compulsory product certification management for electric vehicle power supply equipment, it was decided to include electric vehicle power supply equipment with high safety risks in the scope of compulsory product certification catalog.
The inclusion mainly includes fixed charging piles, mobile charging facilities, and on-board charging equipment that are common in life. It is clear that from March 1, 2025, the relevant certification bodies will begin to accept certification commissions; From August 1, 2026, electric vehicle power supply equipment that has not obtained a certification certificate and marked with a certification mark shall not be shipped, sold, imported or used in other business activities.
There is no statute of limitations for recovering illegally lost cultural relics
The newly revised Cultural Relics Protection Law will come into force on March 1, 2025. The amendment clarifies the protection of immovable cultural relics that have not been classified, and adds the legal provisions that reserve the right to recover cultural relics that have been illegally lost abroad, and this right is not limited by the statute of limitations.
The new law further improves the management system for the protection of cultural relics. For example, the “investigation first, construction later” system has been added, making it clear that no unit shall start construction without investigation to prevent constructive destruction; The system of “archaeology first, then transfer” is added, and it is clarified that archaeological investigation and exploration shall be carried out before land transfer or allocation in relevant areas, so as to reduce the impact of archaeological excavations on construction projects.
Strictly restrict the felling and transplantation of ancient and valuable trees
The Regulations on the Protection of Ancient and Valuable Trees came into force on March 15. This is the first time that China has clarified the code of conduct for the protection and management of ancient and valuable trees in the form of administrative regulations, which fills the gap in the laws and regulations at the national level in the field of ancient and valuable tree protection.
The “Regulations” scientifically define and divide the protection levels of ancient and famous trees, and clarify the procedures for the survey, identification and publication of ancient and famous trees. The regulations also stipulate that it is forbidden to cut down ancient and famous trees, and if emergency measures are taken to cut down ancient and famous trees in accordance with the law due to special emergency circumstances such as prevention and control of major plant epidemics, emergency rescue and disaster relief, the relevant departments of the people’s governments at the county level shall promptly notify the competent departments of ancient and famous trees of the people’s governments at the county level.
The bazaar “short of two catties” or will “return one and lose three”
The State Administration for Market Regulation revised and promulgated the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Measurement in Bazaars, which will come into force on March 1, 2025. The new regulations increase the punishment for measurement violations, and for the first time, introduce honest measurement into the supervision and management of the bazaar.
The Measures specify that business operators shall not use measuring instruments with cheating functions, and stipulate that if business operators use measuring instruments with cheating functions to constitute fraud, the provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests shall apply.
Strengthen the standardized management of business entity registration files
The Measures for the Management of Registration Archives of Business Entities came into force on March 20, clarifying the basic principles and management system of registration file management, and stipulating that the management of registration files adheres to the principles of unified standards, hierarchical management and centralized custody.
In addition, the Measures also improve the management system for the relocation of registration files, clarifying that business entities do not need to apply to the registration authority of the place of relocation for change of registration and registration of the registration file, and do not need to submit repeated applications in the place of relocation.
Mainland branches of banks in Hong Kong and Macao are allowed to open foreign currency bank card business
The State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration issued the Notice on Matters Concerning the Opening of Bank Card Business by Mainland Branches of Hong Kong and Macao Banks, which will come into effect on 1 March 2025, allowing Mainland branches of Hong Kong and Macao banks to open foreign currency bank card business and RMB bank card business for customers other than citizens in China. It is clarified that the reporting system is applicable to the debit card business of the mainland branches of banks in Hong Kong and Macao, and the approval system is applicable to the credit card business.
Mental health and welfare establishments have clarified three types of service recipients
The Measures for the Administration of Mental Health and Welfare Institutions will come into force on March 1, 2025. The new regulations clarify the service targets of mental health and welfare establishments, including three categories: statutory recipients, priority recipients, and recipients who can be admitted. This policy aims to provide more standardized and professional social welfare services for patients with mental disorders and protect their legitimate rights and interests.
The implementation of national standards for furniture suitable for the elderly
The national standard of “General Technical Requirements for Furniture for the Elderly” approved and issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standards Committee) will be officially implemented on March 1, 2025.
The standard fully considers the physical and mental changes and living needs of the elderly, and puts forward relevant requirements and test methods for the physical and chemical properties, structural safety, and intelligent voice interaction functions of suitable furniture according to different levels of behavioral ability of the elderly, which is suitable for the design, production and processing, quality inspection and quality assessment of furniture products suitable for the elderly.
The fisherman’s “electronic driver’s license” was activated
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently issued an announcement to enable the electronic certificate for domestic fishing vessels from March 1, 2025. The scope of the electronic certificate for fishing vessels includes the approval of the index of fishing net tools, the registration certificate of ownership of fishing vessels, the nationality certificate of fishing vessels and the fishing license, and all enterprises, individuals and their principals who hold the above four certificates can apply for and use the electronic certificates in accordance with the prescribed procedures.
The Braille version of the national anthem and other languages shall be standardized
The “National Anthem of the People’s Republic of China” National Braille Program and the National Sign Language Proficiency Grading Standards and Test Syllabus were officially implemented on March 1. The program is applicable to the occasion of the national anthem played and sung by the visually impaired, and will help the visually impaired to play and sing the national anthem in a standardized, uniform and serious manner. The syllabus is applicable to the national general sign language proficiency test, which is an important measure for the standardization, standardization and informatization of sign language.
Regulate the order of military information dissemination on the Internet
The “Measures for the Administration of the Dissemination of Military Information on the Internet” came into force on 1 March. The measures strengthen the convergence of laws and regulations, and provide normative guidance for the establishment of military website platforms, military columns of website platforms, and military accounts.
In view of the practical problems in the management of military information dissemination on the Internet, especially the establishment and supervision of military website platforms, military columns on website platforms, and military accounts, we should pay attention to system design, treat both the symptoms and the root causes, and standardize the order of military information dissemination on the Internet at the source.
