Published by ChinaMNC · Jingyuan

China Tightens Full-Chain Fireworks Safety Oversight: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

A practical guide for foreign founders operating in China on the State Council's new full-chain safety supervision requirements for fireworks production, storage, distribution, transport and discharge, including licensing, product standards and enforcement.

New Fireworks Safety Rules Signal Tighter Market Access for Foreign-Invested Operators

The General Office of the State Council has issued an opinion on strengthening full-chain safety supervision of fireworks and firecrackers, with the State Council's approval. For foreign founders whose China business touches manufacturing, warehousing, wholesale, logistics or event services involving these products, the document is a practical signal that entry barriers, compliance duties and enforcement risk are all rising. Below is a founder-oriented summary of the requirements, based solely on the published text.

Production Entry and Capacity Controls

Local authorities are instructed to set fireworks industry policy suited to local conditions and to strictly limit the number of producers. Safety production licences will not be granted where the legal and standard conditions are unmet or where a producer does not fit local industry policy. Producers must accelerate upgrading against standards, raise mechanised and automated production levels, and strengthen digital and information-based management. An exit mechanism for producers is to be established and implemented, with lawful closure of enterprises that fail to meet safety conditions.

Authorities will publish catalogues of outdated processes, equipment and prohibited substances, and phase out products with uncontrollable discharge trajectories and high safety risk, such as double-bang items, rockets and throw-down firecrackers. Production of dangerous goods that are not classified as fireworks, including torpedoes, bird-scaring shells and smoke shells, is prohibited, as is subcontracting or accepting subcontract processing of products.

Materials and Semi-Finished Goods

Safety management covers black powder, fuse and decommissioned propellant used in fireworks production, including production, processing, storage, purchase and sale, and transport. In principle, black powder, fuse and crushed decommissioned propellant may not be transported across provincial boundaries. Producers may not resell pyrotechnic powder, black powder, fuse, decommissioned propellant, loaded semi-finished goods or explosives precursors to any unit or individual. Initiating explosives such as azides and hydrazine nitrate are barred from use, and buying loaded semi-finished goods for processing and resale is prohibited. Purchase, use and inventory of explosives precursors must be registered and filed, and individuals may not buy them.

Process Risk and Storage

Authorities will combine online and offline supervision through the safety production risk monitoring and early-warning system. Prohibited conduct includes subcontracting or transferring production, exceeding personnel or explosive-powder limits, exceeding licensed scope, changing the use of workshops or warehouses without authorisation, producing during suspension, and failing to discharge static electricity. Special operations, worker safety training, certification before duty and training before duty are emphasised, along with internal reporting and reward mechanisms for hidden hazards.

Storage rules cover raw material warehouses, hazardous goods transfer warehouses, powder warehouses and finished goods warehouses. Changing designed use, mixing oxidisers with reducers, over-storage, over-stacking or blocking passages is prohibited. A transfer warehouse may hold no more than two days of production用量 — that is, two days' production consumption. Temporary storage for large fireworks displays must meet safety rules.

Distribution, Sales and Flow Tracking

Regions must plan retail outlets scientifically and update the plan dynamically. Retail outlets may be placed in areas where discharge is permitted, but not in areas where discharge is banned at all times and across the whole area. Where safety conditions allow, temporary retail points may be added from New Year's Day to the Lantern Festival to avoid crowding from concentrated purchasing. Licences will be refused where safety conditions or the outlet plan are not met. Wholesalers' sales and delivery areas must be defined in light of local outlet plans and their storage and delivery capacity.

Wholesalers must buy from producers, and retailers must buy from wholesalers and accept delivery services. Producers may not sell directly to retailers or individuals; wholesalers may not sell to other wholesalers or directly to individuals; and illegally produced or traded fireworks may not be purchased or sold. Retail outlets must have staff on site during peak sales periods, with video monitoring and other digital tools encouraged for risk warnings. Retail premises may not combine a shop below with housing above, contain open flames, hold excess stock or display products outside, and crowds must be prevented.

Traceability and Online Controls

Flow information for fireworks, black powder, fuse, decommissioned propellant and explosives precursors must be managed digitally across the whole process, with label content matching reality and dynamic linkage of licence qualifications, sales contracts, road transport, product flow and enterprise inventory. Professional display products require unified identification and registration. They may not be sold to retail outlets or individuals. For domestic sale, producers sell professional display products directly to large display operators; wholesalers and retailers may not deal in them.

Internet platforms must improve internal management and technical review capacity. Individuals may not post fireworks sales information online, and no unit or individual may publish违规 content about fireworks on the internet.

Export, Transport and Discharge

Export safety management covers port loading supervision, approval and on-site inspection of ships carrying fireworks, quality and safety inspection, packaging appraisal and risk monitoring. Falsely declared or concealed fireworks found at ports must be destroyed or handled promptly, and cross-department information sharing is required.

Road transport rules require qualification management for explosives transport enterprises, vehicles and personnel, safety training for drivers and escorts, and use of box-type dedicated vehicles or container transport vehicles. Vehicles holding a road transport certificate but failing licence conditions will have the permit revoked. Road transport licence review examines qualifications, vehicle certificates, purchase and sales contracts, product type, specification and quantity, quality certificates and packaging certificates; non-compliant applications are refused. After transport, the consignee must return the fireworks road transport permit to the issuing authority within three days for cancellation, and one permit may not cover multiple shipments.

Loading and transport are monitored digitally, including loading, routes and drivers. Loading before verification is prohibited, as is transport without a licence, outside licensed matters, off approved routes or with stops or loading outside permitted locations. Less-than-truckload carriers may not carry fireworks, online freight platforms may not post fireworks transport orders, and courier channels must enforce real-name sending, inspection and machine screening.

Regions must set discharge times, locations and product types lawfully. Areas adjusting discharge policy should publish it at least three months in advance with supporting safety measures. Large displays require tiered management, approval, checks on operator and personnel qualifications, and organiser arrangements for security, traffic control and fire protection. Public education, patrols, drone inspection and smart video monitoring support enforcement against illegal discharge, illegal modification and personal purchase, storage or discharge of professional display products.

Product Quality, Standards and Enforcement

Quality supervision抽查 — spot checks — will examine structure and specifications, composition and charge weight, packaging and marking, with non-compliant products published and referred to relevant departments. Products exceeding charge weight or specifications, or fitted with oversized partitions or pads, are prohibited, as is falsifying origin or factory name and address. Mandatory standards, including the fireworks engineering design safety standard and the fireworks safety and quality standard, must be enforced, with supporting work on fire, explosion, lightning and static protection, machinery, transport vehicles and product quality.

Accident investigation follows the four-not-let-go principle. Enterprises responsible for fatal or injurious accidents must suspend operations for rectification and have safety conditions re-examined; those still non-compliant are closed and licences revoked. Liability extends to principal responsible persons, including legal representatives, actual controllers and actual persons in charge, under the principle that whoever invests, benefits and is responsible bears the consequences. Serious violations such as excess personnel, powder or scope, or unauthorised changes to workshop use, may be transferred to judicial authorities where suspected crimes are involved. Local governments bear responsibility for combating illegal fireworks activity, with cross-department information sharing and enforcement.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.