china has already overtaken japan as world s second - largest economy . in the past decade , 
 china s gdp growth averaged about 10% a year .
china has achieved a rapid economic 
 development , especially in industrial field . in 2010 ,
china has become the world s largest 
 manufacturer , with its manufacturing output surpassed the u.s . and japan .
behind this rapid 
 economic development , a huge working population is driving this country continues to make 
 great strides in various fields . according to census figures released in april 2011 ( china 
 mainland ) , china
s population has surpassed 1.33 billion1 , with more than 700 million people in employed population2 .
it was reported that over 200 million people suffered occupational hazards that existed in 
 16 million enterprises3 . according to the 
 statistic data from national cdc , 27,240 cases of occupational diseases
were reported in 
 2010 , which over twice of 13,218 cases reported in 2001 . of these , pneumoconiosis patient 
 account for 94% and 679 people died as a result of this occupational damage4 . due to incompleteness of the reports ,
this 
 may be the tip of a huge iceberg of health hazards in the workplaces .
china has become the 
  world s factory floor  and his occupational health and safety laws , regulations and 
 regulatory system are struggling to keep up with the current explosive economic growth and 
 social development .
this article is intended to comprehensively review the history of 
 china s regulatory system of occupational health and safety , as well as the current problems 
 and ongoing reform of this regulatory system in the country , and to provide suggestions for 
 further regulatory direction .
as for china , occupational health and safety is not a new issue . in the past 20  yr , the 
 dramatic economic and social changes occurring in china are unprecedented in human history . 

chinese people has experienced a rapid transition from rural agricultural society to urban 
 industrial society , and the working population has faced many new types of industries and 
 health hazards in such a short time .
china s regulatory system of occupational health and 
 safety has been trying to make suitable adjustments and even reform to deal with these 
 changes .
the government has promulgated a range of laws , regulations , and decrees that 
 codify workers rights and health and safety protections .
the labor law was promulgated july 5 , 1994 , and became effective january 1 , 1995 .
this law 
 is the basic body for adjudication of labor relations , and has established labor contract 
 and group contract systems , a tripartite coordination mechanism for handling disputes , and a 
 labor standard system5 .
a labor 
 supervisory system was also established by labor and social security administrative 
 departments .
labor and social security administrative departments are authorized to regulate 
 and inspect the labor contract between workers and employers , and provide social security 
 for workers .
trade 
 union organizations have the right to participate in the coordination of labor relations and 
 safeguard the rights and interests of workers . however , occupational health and safety 
 issues in workplace were regulated and supervised by other government departments .
the framework of government regulation and enforcement has an important impact on 
 regulatory system of occupational health and safety . in 2001 and 2002 , china s legislature , 
 the national people s congress approved the occupational disease prevention law and the safe 
 production law , the laws both went into effect in 2002 . as seen in fig .
, these two important laws respectively authorize the health administrative department 
 and work safety administrative department to assume their duties and responsibilities6 , 7 . 

health administrative department regulate and supervise the affairs of occupational disease 
 prevention and control , including occupational health standards establishing , occupational 
 health examination and surveillance , occupational diseases diagnosis , treatment , 
 surveillance and report , identifying toxic chemicals , labor protection for using toxic 
 substances in workplace , protection against radioisotopes and radiation - emitting apparatus , 
 occupational hazards evaluation in workplace , supervision on medical and occupational health 
 service agencies , providing support to the research of occupational disease prevention and 
 control ,  three simultaneous  management of occupational health in construction project . 

work safety administrative department s duties and responsibilities mainly include work 
 safety standards establishing , occupational hazards reporting , rescue in times of accidents , 
 accident investigation , safety of lives and properties , regulation on the production , 
 operation , storage , transportation , and use of dangerous chemicals and disposal of the 
 dangerous chemical waste ,  three simultaneous  management of work safety in construction 
 project .
the nationwide regulatory system of health administrative department , from the central 
 government to the local county government , comprises ministry of health , provincial , 
 municipal , and county - level health administrative departments .
in addition , center for 
 disease control and prevention ( cdc ) and institute of occupational disease prevention at all 
 levels are very important health service agencies that affiliated to this regulatory system . 

these agencies are under the supervision of health administrative department , and their 
 scope of work covers the occupational health standards establishing , occupational health 
 examination , occupational diseases diagnosis , treatment , surveillance and report , 
 occupational hazards evaluation of construction project , studies of occupational diseases 
 control and prevention . for example , the institutes of occupational disease prevention at 
 all levels provide technical support and collaborate with hospitals for the treatment of 
 occupational diseases and occupational poisoning .
the national cdc established a nationwide 
 network reporting system for occupational diseases case registration .
each case found of 
 occupational diseases and occupational poisoning will be registered through this system , and 
 such health - related data will be finally reported to health administrative department . 

 occupational disease  in the law refers to diseases resulting from industrial dust , 
 poisonous substances , radioactive substances and other harmful substances in the workplace . 

the occupational disease is defined by ministry of health and ministry of labor and social 
 security , which jointly defined and published the  category and list of legal occupational 
 diseases  in april 18 , 2002 .
the latest version of the  category and list of legal occupational diseases  was 
 defined and published in december 23 , 2013 .
the new list now includes 132 diseases in ten 
 categories , and the list come into effect at the beginning of 20148 .
as seen in table 
 1table 1.the number of occupational disease cases reported of individual yearyearthe number of occupationaldisease cases reported200512,212200611,519200714,296200813,744200918,128201027,240201129,879201227,420201326,393 , according to annual national occupational disease report from ministry of 
 health , statistic data of occupational disease cases reported for the year from 2005 to 2013 
 show that the cases has been increasing yearly .
this increasing may due to the health risks 
 along with china s rapid economic development and industrialization . on the other hand ,
the 
 regulatory system reform did not keep up with this change may be a reason . in china , each occupational health service agencies , such as cdc , institute of occupational 
 disease prevention , and other specific hospitals
, must be accredited by health 
 administrative department . as of 2007 , there were 4,211 industrial physicians in nationwide 
 occupational health service agencies . as of 2013 , there were 3,437 occupational health 
 examination agencies and 603 occupational diseases diagnosis agencies in china mainland9 .
besides providing occupational diseases 
 diagnosis and treatment , occupational health service agencies draft occupational health 
 standards under the guidance of health administrative department . as of 2011
, china had 
 issued 398 workplace health standards for occupational hazardous agent exposure , including 
 339 for chemicals , 47 for particulates and dusts , 2 for biological agents and 10 for 
 physical factors10 , 11 .
these occupational exposure limits of hazardous agents are 
 designated as pc - twa ( permissible concentration - time weighted average ) , pc - stel ( permissible 
 concentration - short term exposure limit ) and mac ( maximum allowable concentration ) . in 
 addition , china has also published several technical standards for monitoring airborne 
 hazardous agents in workplace . to make the best of protective measures , a revised hygienic 
 standard for the design of industrial enterprises
was promulgated in 2010 . according to this 
 standard , from the beginning of design and construction phases
, industrial enterprises must 
 consider and pay attention to the protective facilities and measures for preventing any 
 possible occupational hazards exposure , and provide standards - compliant work environment for 
 workers12 .
health administrative 
 department regularly carry out evaluation of occupational hazards so as to make sure the 
 implementation of these standards .
furthermore , health administrative department is also 
 authorized by occupational disease prevention law to require enterprises to follow the 
  three simultaneous  management system of occupational health in construction project .
this 
 management system require enterprise s occupational health protective facilities and 
 measures must be designed , built and used simultaneously with the design , construct and 
 completion phases of factory building .
the nationwide regulatory system of work safety administrative department comprises state 
 administration of work safety , provincial , municipal , and county - level work safety 
 administrative departments . not like health administrative department s focusing on 
 occupational disease prevention and control ,
work safety administrative department is mainly 
 responsible for the safety of lives and properties in workplace , work safety standards 
 establishing , work safety assessment , rescue in times of accidents , accident investigation , 
 regulation of dangerous chemicals such as combustibles , explosives , radioactive substances 
 and highly toxic substances . in 2004 , the state council promulgated safety production permit 
 regulations , and the revised version was promulgated in 201313 .
the regulations explicitly require that before officially running 
 production , industrial enterprises must obtain safety production permit from 
 provincial - level work safety administrative department .
in addition , regulations on labor 
 protection against toxic substances in workplace was promulgated by the state council in 
 2002 . according to the regulations , enterprises without occupational health and safety 
 permit
, there were approximately 60,000 law 
 enforcement officers in nationwide work safety administrative departments15 , this result in only approximately one 
 government inspector for every 12,000 workers .
this law enforcement team regularly inspects 
 industrial enterprises , carry out work safety assessment and check safety production permit 
 and occupational health and safety permit so as to urge enterprises strictly follow the work 
 safety standards and regulations . besides , enterprises are required to implement the  three 
 simultaneous  management system of work safety in construction project
. enterprise s work 
 safety protective facilities and measures must be designed , built and used simultaneously 
 with the design , construct and completion phases of factory building . as seen in table 2table 2.incidents of safety accidents of individual yearyearthe number of safety accidentsdeath tolls of safety accidents2004803,573136,7552005717,938127,0892006627,158112,8222007506,376101,4822008414,17491,1762009379,24483,1962010363,38379,5522011347,72875,572 , according to public information16 , 
 17 , the number of safety accidents and 
 death tolls of safety accidents for the year from 2004 to 2011 had been decreasing year by 
 year .
the category of safety accident is defined by statistical list from the state 
 administration of work safety and national bureau of statistics .
the statistical list 
 includes coal mining accident , metal and non - metal mining accident , chemical industry 
 accident , construction industry accident , metallurgical industry accident , machinery 
 manufacturing industry accident , traffic accident , fire accident , commercial and trade 
 accident , and other categories of accidents .
the declined number of safety accident in 
 recent year may due to the government apparently improve its law enforcement and strengthen 
 safety supervision and inspection , and the other reason probably is that china has obtained 
 obvious progresses of science and technology in industry , transportation system and other 
 areas .
in addition , china s industrial structure has experienced a rapid and sustainable 
 transition from light industry to heavy industry , this structure change may require 
 enterprises to use and apply high efficiency and more advanced production technology18 . in consequence , progresses in science and 
 technology can restrain occurrence of safety accident .
in china , occupational disease prevention law and the safe production law are the two basic 
 laws for supervision of occupational health and safety . the regulatory framework of 
 occupational
these two regulatory departments are both authorized by 
 laws and respectively assume their duties and responsibilities .
these mean that occupational 
 health and occupational safety , from the perspective of legislation and supervision , are 
 separated .
lack of harmonized legislation and unified supervision would result in the 
 conflict of regulatory departments function and poor coordination .
enterprises sometimes 
 would confuse that which department assumes regulatory function , and regulatory vacuum would 
 be induced because of this status . for instance , regulation of occupational hazard program 
 declaration was promulgated by the ministry of health in march 28 , 200219 .
this regulation requires enterprises to report their 
 possible occupational hazard to health administrative department .
but the state 
 administration of work safety promulgated the regulation of workplace s occupational hazard 
 declaration in september 8 , 200920 .
this 
 regulation also requires enterprises to report their possible occupational hazard to work 
 safety administrative department .
even regulatory 
 vacuum would happen when enterprises trying to evade supervision of regulatory department . 

in fact , the separation of occupational health and occupational safety may cause ineffective 
 convergence of occupational hazards source management , early prevention , process management 
 and consequences response . the ineffective convergence in the enforcement of occupational 
 health and safety laws may weaken the supervision capacities .
now this situation calls for 
 intensified and unified rectification , and further stepping to an integrated regulatory 
 system . as for china
seen in table 3table 3.history of the law / policy making of occupational health and safety in 
 chinatime courselaw / policy - making agencieslaw / policyrelevant departments1992national people s congresstrade union lawtrade union1994national people s congresslabor lawlabor and social security administrative department2001national people s congressrevised trade union lawtrade union2001national people s congressoccupational disease prevention lawhealth administrative department2002national people s congresssafe production lawwork safety administrative department2002the state councilregulations on labor protection against toxic substances in 
 workplacehealth administrative department2003state commission office of public sectors reformnotice on the arrangement of internal organization of state 
 administration of work safetystate administration of work safety2004the state councilsafety production permit regulationshealth administrative department2005ministry of health , state administration of work safetynotice on the arrangement of occupational health regulatory 
 responsibilitieshealth administrative department , work safety administrative 
 department2010state commission office of public sectors reformnotice on the arrangement of occupational health regulatory 
 departments responsibilitieshealth administrative department , work safety administrative 
 department2011national people s congressrevised occupational disease prevention lawhealth administrative department , work safety administrative 
 department2013the state councilrevised safety production permit regulationswork safety administrative department2014national people s congressrevised safe production lawwork safety administrative department , as a matter of fact , in the past 10  yr , china has made several adjustments 
 and reform for improving its occupational health and safety regulatory system . in 2003 ,
the 
 central government decided to transfer part of regulatory functions from health 
 administrative department to work safety administrative department .
for instance , health 
 administrative department no longer inspected and supervised occupational health in 
 workplace , and work safety administrative department began to take over the regulatory 
 functions of occupational health and occupational safety .
2  yr later , ministry of health and 
 state administration of work safety jointly issued a notice with regard to the arrangement 
 of occupational health and safety regulatory functions . this notice first time explicitly arranged the regulatory functions of health 
 administrative department and work safety administrative department21 .
health administrative department s regulatory functions 
 included occupational health standards establishing , occupational health examination and 
 surveillance , occupational diseases diagnosis , treatment , surveillance and report , 
 identifying toxic chemicals , labor protection for using toxic substances in workplace , 
 protection against radioisotopes and radiation - emitting apparatus , occupational hazards 
 evaluation in workplace , supervision on medical and occupational health service agencies , 
 providing support to the research of occupational disease prevention and control , 
three 
 simultaneous  management of occupational health in construction project , and so on .
work 
 safety administrative department s regulatory functions included inspection and supervision 
 of occupational health and safety in workplace , occupational hazards reporting , rescue in 
 times of accidents , accident investigation , work safety standards establishing , work safety 
 assessment , regulation on the dangerous chemicals ,  three simultaneous  management of work 
 safety in construction project , issuance of safety production permit and occupational health 
 and safety permit . in 2010 ,
the central government issued a notice to adjust occupational 
 health and safety regulatory system22 . 

parts of regulatory functions of health administrative department , for instance , 
 occupational health examination and surveillance , supervision on occupational health service 
 agencies ,  three simultaneous  management of occupational health in construction project 
 were transferred to work safety administrative department . in 2011 , a revised occupational 
 disease prevention law was promulgated by the national people s congress .
the revised 
 version legislatively adjusted regulatory functions of health administrative department and 
 work safety administrative department , and provided a legal basis for these two departments 
 to assume their duties and responsibilities more clearly .
in the past 20  yr , china has grown to become the world s largest producer and stepped 
 forward to industrialization .
china has been trying to make suitable adjustments and reform 
 to modify his occupational health and safety laws , regulations and regulatory system . the 
 incentive to reform this regulatory system
is that china now faces more and more challenges 
 from controlling occupational diseases and work safety problem and protecting worker s 
 rights .
the aim of this reform is likely to establish an integrated regulatory system of 
 occupational health and safety , and improve regulatory efficiency .
millions of factories in 
 china need more stringent supervision , and hundreds of millions of workers rights and 
 interests should be protected by the state .
the government should generate political will to 
 strictly enforce the prior and newly - established occupational health and safety standards 
 and laws .
in addition , necessary financial , human , and technical resources should be devoted 
 to the regulatory system . finally , given the size and complexity of china s varied 
 workplaces , effective policies can not be implemented and maintained without the active 
 participation of  three key actorsemployers , the government , and workers .
the  three key 
 actors  must continue to participate in regulatory system to drive forward more health and 
 safety conditions in workplaces .
 with the explosive economic growth and social development , china s regulatory system of 
 occupational health and safety now faces more and more challenges . 
 this article reviews 
 the history of regulatory system of occupational health and safety in china , as well as 
 the current reform of this regulatory system in the country . 
 comprehensive , a range of 
 laws , regulations and standards that promulgated by chinese government , duties and 
 responsibilities of the regulatory departments are described . 
 problems of current 
 regulatory system , the ongoing adjustments and changes for modifying and improving 
 regulatory system are discussed . 
 the aim of reform and the incentives to drive forward 
 more health and safety conditions in workplaces are also outlined . 
Introduction
Regulatory System of Occupational Health and Safety in the Past Decades
Regulatory System of Occupational Health
Regulatory System of Occupational Safety
Problems of Occupational Health and Safety Regulatory System
Current Reform of Occupational Health and Safety Regulatory System
Conclusion