Background

As China’s electrical and electronics industry developed, deficiencies in the systems for China’s RoHS 1 emerged, and revision of RoHS 1 became an urgent need. It was also necessary to adjust and improve the management system of China RoHS 1 and establish a conformity assessment system. Against this background, on January 6, 2016, eight Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and National Development and Reform Commission, jointly issued the Management Measures on the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (“China RoHS 2”).

China RoHS 2 has adopted a “Two-Step” enforcement process. The first step requires products within its scope to meet the labeling requirements and be labeled in accordance with the relevant standards. The second step involves a list management system, which requires the products in the Qualification Management Catalogue to satisfy the limits on hazardous substance content; in other words, quantities of such substances in the products must not exceed specified levels. The details of the regulation are managed by the Conformity Assessment System.

As most enterprises had already implemented this first step of China RoHS 2, in order to promote the second step, eight government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, released the first Qualification Management Catalogue for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (the “Qualification Management Catalogue”) and the Exemption List for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (the “Exemption List”), on March 12, 2018. To implement the second step and manage the products listed in the Qualification Management Catalogue, the State Administration for Market Regulation and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China issued the Implementation Arrangements for the Conformity Assessment System for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (the “Implementation Arrangements”) on May 16, 2019.

 

China RoHS 2 flow chart

 

Target electrical and electronic products

Devices and accessory products with a rated voltage of 1500 V DC or 1000 V AC which function by means of electric current or electromagnetic fields or which generate, transmit or measure electric currents or electromagnetic fields. However, equipment for generation, transmission or distribution of electric power is explicitly excluded.

 

Main Laws and Regulations

1) Management Measures on the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (China RoHS 2)

Key Regulations of China RoHS 2

a) Article 13–14
Producers and importers of electrical and electronic products are responsible for displaying the names of hazardous substances, quantities of these substances in the products, reusability/recyclability of the products and their components, impact on the environment and human health when the products are used or processed inappropriately, and environment-friendly use periods of the products, etc.

b) Article 18
The State shall establish the Conformity Assessment System for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products. The electrical and electronic products listed in the Qualification Management Catalogue must meet the national and industry standards related to the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products, and shall be managed by the Conformity Assessment System.

 

2) SJ/T 11364-2014 Marking for the Restricted Use of Hazardous Substances in Electronic and Electrical Products

SJ/T 11364-2014 stipulates the standards for the marking required by the Management Measures on the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products.

Main point of SJ/T 11364-2014

Electronic and electrical products should be labeled in accordance with the requirements of this standard to state whether they contain hazardous substances or not. If a product does not contain them, the sign shown in Figure 1 should be selected. If a product contains a hazardous substance, the sign shown in Figure 2 should be selected and the name and amount of the substance should be clearly stated in the product’s manual in accordance with the requirements set out in Section 6.2.2 of this standard.

Figure 1 label I

Figure 2 label II

First Qualification Management Catalogue for China RoHS 2

On March 15, 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China issued the first Qualification Management Catalogue for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products and the Exemption List for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (Public Notice No. 15 of 2018).

Effective date Mar. 15, 2019
Requirements for products listed in the Qualification Management Catalogue Hazardous substance limits specified in GB/T 26572:

  • Lead and lead compounds 0.1wt%
  • Mercury and mercury compounds 0.1 wt%.
  • Cadmium and cadmium compounds 0.01 wt%
  • exavalent chromium compounds 0.1 wt%.
  • Polybrominated biphenyls 0.1 wt%.
  • Polybrominated diphenyl ethers 0.1wt%.
Note Products listed in the catalogue are managed in the Conformity Assessment System.

Products listed in the first Qualification Management Catalogue

    1. Electric refrigerators
    2. Air conditioners
    3. Washing machines
    4. Electric water heaters
    5. Printers
    6. Copy machines
    7. Faxes
    8. Televisions
    9. Monitors
    10. Microcomputers
    11. Mobile phones
    12. Phones

Exemption List for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products
According to the public notice of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, the requirements for the restriction of the use of hazardous substances are not applied to the products listed in the Exemption list for the time being. This list sets forth exempted applications and the upper quantity limits for exemption for each hazardous substance.

 Implementation Arrangements for the Conformity Assessment System for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products
From November 1, 2019 onwards, when products listed in the first Qualification Management Catalogue are shipped or imported, the Conformity Assessment must be conducted for the products and the results must be submitted to the Public Service Platform for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products.

Suppliers of electrical and electronic products on the first Qualification Management Catalogue must select one of the two types of conformity assessments shown in the table below (third-party certification or self-declaration) and complete the Conformity Assessment process for the restriction on the use of hazardous chemical substances in electrical and electronic products.

Type Conformity Assessment label Submission period for conformity information Reported by
Third-party certification Within 5 business days after product certification Third-party certification body
Self-declaration Within 30 days after the product is put on the market Supplier (including the producer, an authorized representative, etc.)

 

On December, 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a draft revision of SJ/T 11364. See more details in the following:
China releases draft revision of China RoHS-related industry standard for labeling

 

NOTE:
On March 14, 2022, Chinese government proposed the revision of RoHS provisions to newly regulate four phthalates. See more details in the following:

In addition, China Electronics Standardization Institute solicited public opinion regarding the RoHS-related industry standard “Measurement of seven phthalates used in electrical and electronic devices: High-performance liquid chromatography” on March 3, 2022.