From public security and cybersecurity to childcare costs and environmental protection, China is rolling out a sweeping package of new laws and regulations starting Jan. 1. The changes include revisions to long-standing statutes as well as several first-of-their-kind laws, marking one of the broadest regulatory updates in recent years.

Key among them is the revised Public Security Administration Punishment Law, which expands policing powers to cover offenses ranging from unauthorized drone flights to exam cheating, tightens penalties for juvenile offenders, and for the first time establishes a system to seal records of minor violations.

The overhaul also includes tougher cybersecurity rules with sharply higher fines for infrastructure breaches, clearer governance standards for artificial intelligence, standardized kindergarten pricing policies, and landmark legislation on national parks and environmental monitoring.

Public security law expanded

The revised Public Security Administration Punishment Law broadens its scope to cover newly emerging social order violations.
Newly specified offenses include exam cheating, organizing pyramid schemes, throwing objects from heights, unauthorized drone flights and cases in which failure to restrain animals causes injury to others.

The revision also clarifies the definition of justifiable self-defense and adjusts penalties to better reflect the severity of violations. Rules governing juvenile offenders are also tightened. Under the updated law, minors aged 14 to 18 may be detained for serious first-time offenses, while repeat offenders aged 14 to 16 may face detention if violations occur within a one-year period.

The law also establishes, for the first time, a nationwide system to seal records of minor offenses, a measure intended to limit long-term consequences for minor violations.

Cybersecurity rules tightened

Changes to the Cybersecurity Law increase legal liability for data breaches and failures involving information infrastructure. In cases involving serious damage, including disruptions to critical information systems, fines range from 2 million to 10 million yuan ($278,000 to $1.38 million).

The revisions also introduce provisions related to artificial intelligence, including requirements for risk monitoring and ethical oversight, alongside support for research and infrastructure development.

National park law takes effect

The first National Park Law sets legal standards for the planning, designation and management of national parks.
The law sets criteria for park establishment, limits park scale, and divides protected areas into core protection zones and general control zones. It also encourages public participation in conservation efforts, promotes local hiring for ecological management roles, and supports the development of regionally branded ecological products.

Separately, the Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Regulation creates China’s first administrative legal framework governing environmental monitoring. It requires unified planning of national and local monitoring stations and tighter oversight of pollution sources and ecological risks.

Enterprises are required to conduct self-monitoring of emissions and environmental impacts, retain records for at least five years, and publicly disclose monitoring data to prevent falsification.

Kindergarten fees regulated

New rules governing kindergarten fees set government-guided pricing for public kindergartens and market-based pricing for for-profit institutions.

The rules require all fees to be publicly listed, mandate written agreements with parents, prohibit unauthorized charges for additional programs and ban donations linked to enrollment or fees collected through third parties.
Other changes

Additional measures include clarified tax incentives under the Value-Added Tax Law, refined rules on cross-border data transfers and requirements linking executive pay at listed companies to performance.

Other updates address disputes over virtual property, standardized language use online, wildfire management, oversight of egg products and a one-time credit repair policy.

(Header image: Visuals from Saifulasmee Chede/Getty Creative/VCG, reedited by Sixth Tone)