SAFE BEAUTY: Cosmetics must adhere to strict safety standards in future (XINHUA)

Cosmetics Safety

China's top drug watchdog, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), will soon set up the country's first safety assessment and monitoring system for cosmetics and skin care products.

The SFDA has drawn up a draft plan for a product test system and is re-examining the qualifications of agencies that approve cosmetics and skin care products, and screening candidates for a safety commission.

SFDA will also optimize the emergency response system for safety incidents involving cosmetics, something that has aroused great public concern. For example, in 2006, products of Japanese brand SK-II were found in China to contain chromium, an element prohibited in cosmetics and skin care products and the findings stirred waves of demand for refunds nationwide. According to SFDA, the country should strengthen emergency response capabilities by planning and securing sufficient technological, personnel and material support.

Fighting Commercial Bribery

As an increasing number of transnational companies are involved in bribe cases, China's Criminal Law is being updated to include penalties against international commercial bribery. According to the Ministry of Supervision, 69,223 cases of commercial bribery were investigated between August 2005 and December 2009, which means that more than 1,300 cases were discovered in China each month.

A special team has been set up at the ministry to tackle commercial bribery in overseas construction projects, land transfers, property transactions, pharmaceutical sales, government procurement contracts as well as resources exploitation and sales. Commercial bribery is now a common challenge for all multinational companies.

Experts believe China's lack of a specific law to penalize transnational commercial bribery is allowing multinationals to stray from the straight and narrow and promotes corruption.

Saving Energy

China is undertaking a compulsory energy-saving assessment on new fixed-asset investment projects in order to boost energy conservation across the country.

The new regulations, issued by National Development and Reform Commission in late September, stipulate that all new fixed-asset investments must undergo assessments and reviews to see whether they meet the energy-saving requirements before approval can be granted by regulators. Any investment projects that fail to meet the requirements will be rejected. According to the new regulations, which take effect on November 1, independent institutions will carry out the assessments, while government departments take charge of their review.

Experts said the new rules would help the government curb the excessive consumption of energy and increase the efficiency of its use.