On March 28, 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China jointly released the Classification and Code of Dangerous Goods (GB 6944-2025), which will come into effect on October 1, 2025, fully replacing the previous Classification and Code of Dangerous Goods (GB 6944-2012).
The GB 6944-2025 standard falls under the jurisdiction of SAC/TC 469 (National Technical Committee on Hazardous Chemicals Management) and is implemented by TC 251 (National Technical Committee on Standardization of Hazardous Chemicals Management). The drafting organizations include the Water Transport Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, and the Chemical Registration Center of the Ministry of Emergency Management.
The official text of GB 6944-2025 is expected to be published within 20 working days after its release. According to the draft for comments issued on March 1, 2023, the GB 6944-2025 is anticipated to align with the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods - Model Regulations (22nd Revised Edition) and the Manual of Tests and Criteria (7th Revised Edition).