The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC) was opened for signature on January 13, 1993 and entered into force on April 29, 1997. The CWC, with 193 State Parties up to October 2024, is the first international arms control treaty that bans completely an entire category of weapons of mass destruction and requires their thorough destruction under a stringent verification regime. It is of great significance to the maintenance of international peace and security.

China has all along stood for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of all weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons. China supports the purposes and objectives of the CWC. China actively participated in the negotiation of the CWC and ratified it on April 25, 1997 as one of the original signatory States Parties. It has faithfully fulfilled its obligations under the CWC and supported the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

1. National Authority

The Chinese Government has established and improved the CWC implementation working mechanism at the central and local levels. At the central level, an inter-ministerial joint meeting mechanism for the CWC implementation has been established consisting of relevant government departments. It is responsible for studying major domestic implementation issues, coordinating and handling important implementation matters, formulating and adjusting implementation laws and regulations, and coordinating the acceptance of the OPCW verification and guiding the national management of controlled chemicals. At the local level, relevant provincial, autonomous region, and municipality governments have established the CWC implementation leadership and service agencies, and some areas with developed chemical industries have also established municipal and county-level CWC implementation agencies. A national implementation office for the CWC has been established in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of to be responsible for daily organization and coordination.

2. Legislation

The Chinese Government promulgated successively and put into effect the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Controlled Chemicals (1995, amended in 2011), the List of Controlled Chemicals by Category (1996, amended in 2020), the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Controlled Chemicals  (1997, amended in 2018), and the List of Items Newly Included in Category Three of Controlled Chemicals (1998). These laws and regulations have provided a legal framework for the implementation of the CWC and established comprehensive regime of effective administration of the production, trading, use, stockpiling, import and export of scheduled chemicals. 

Moreover, the Chinese Government promulgated and implemented Measures for Controlling the Export of Relevant Chemical Products and Affiliated Equipment and Technologies and the List of Export Control in 2002, and amended the List of Export Control in 2022, which has further improved China's export control of certain chemicals and dual-use chemical equipment and technologies. In order to prevent and prosecute acts that use substances like toxic chemicals to carry out terrorist activities, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China ratified, in December 2001, Amendment No.3 to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, which explicitly criminalizes acts that illegally manufacture, transport, stockpile, or use toxic/poisonous substances to endanger public safety, and has specified corresponding penalties.

3. Declaration, Inspection and Cooperation with OPCW

Pursuant to the provisions of the CWC, China has submitted its various declarations to OPCW on time and successfully received 686 on-site inspections by OPCW (as of September 2024). China has actively participated in various activities of the OPCW. China and the Technical Secretariat of OPCW jointly organized 8 training courses on chemicals protection and assistance, 3 medical assistance training courses, 2 inspectors training courses, 3 regional CWC implementation seminars, the 2nd Regional Meeting of National Authorities in Asia , the 13th Regional Meeting of National Authorities in Asia and the 1st Asian Education and Outreach Event, and the Chemical Safety and Security Seminar, the 1st Asian regional international cooperation seminar, chemicals trade and export control seminar, etc.

4. Application of the CWC in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan

In accordance with the principle of the One Country, Two Systems policy and the Basic Laws of the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, the central government has established the model for the application of the CWC in the Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR, ensuring CWC’s comprehensive and effective implementation. The Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR respectively formulate and issue government regulations, administrative orders, etc. to strictly regulate the production and trade of chemicals involved in the CWC, and submit various declarations to the OPCW on time through the central government.