Every country has its own unique rules and regulations around advertising.
For example, the European Union has stricter laws around the marketing of pharmaceuticals than the United States, and Sweden restricts advertising to children under the age of 12.
Personally, one reason I enjoy watching the BBC in the United Kingdom is that there are no ads!
China is no different. The country’s current advertising structure dates back to a 1994 law. It’s been revised several times since.
You may be surprised that this is so recent.
Keep in mind that China only began liberalizing in the 1980s after Deng Xiaoping became the country’s leader and a new constitution was instituted in 1982.
Today, I’d like to briefly cover some key aspects of the country’s advertising laws.
I have taken the information for this paper from this WeChat article.
Brief Summary of Law
If you are short on time and can’t read through this entire article, here are the four most important things to remember.
- Telling the Truth: Article 4 states, “Advertisements must not contain false or misleading content, nor deceive or mislead consumers. Advertisers shall be responsible for the authenticity of the advertisement content.”
- No Misleading Claims: According to Article 8: “Advertisements that describe a product’s performance, functionality, origin, purpose, quality, composition, price, manufacturer, expiration date, or any promises, as well as the content, provider, form, quality, price, or promises of a service, must be accurate, clear, and explicit. If an advertisement indicates that a product or service includes a complimentary item, it must clearly specify the type, specifications, quantity, duration, and method of the offer.”
- Avoid Claims About Time Commitments: Delivery couriers have different walking speeds, and no human can control the traffic or weather. Instead of phrases using absolute terms like “3-minute arrival guaranteed,” use more open-ended sentences like “conveniently located within walking distance.”
- Penalty for Not Complying: Companies that fail to comply with the law can be fined up to 1,000,000 RMB, their marketing campaign will also be suspended, and they will be added to a regulatory credit blacklist.
As long as you keep the above four points in mind, your marketing campaign should be fine.
Terms in China’s Advertising Law
China’s law outlines a few terms (I have translated these):
“The term ‘advertiser’ in this law refers to natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations that design, produce, or publish advertisements by themselves or entrust others to do so to promote goods or services.
The term ‘advertising operator’ in this law refers to natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations that accept entrustment to provide advertising design, production, and agency services.
The term ‘advertising publisher’ in this law refers to natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations that publish advertisements for advertisers or advertising operators entrusted by advertisers.
The term ‘advertising spokesperson’ in this law refers to natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations other than advertisers who recommend or certify goods or services in advertisements in their own name or image.”
Provisions of China’s Advertising Law
China’s advertising law can be broken down into six parts:
- General Provisions
- Advertising Content Standards
- Advertising Conduct Regulations
- Supervision and Management
- Legal Liabilities
- Supplementary Provisions
Instead of going through these line by line, I will cover the main aspects.
Who is in Charge of Carrying Out the Law
Under the central state government, there are three administrative levels within China.
- Provincial
- County
- Township
Regarding the country’s advertisement law, the State Administration for Market Regulation is in charge of ensuring marketing regulations are followed on a national level. However, the law states that all government bodies from the county level up are responsible for executing regulations within their respective spheres.
Keep in mind that the advertising law does not include everything companies need to abide by.
As Article 11 states:
“If the matters involved in the advertising content require administrative licensing, they shall conform to the content of the license.”
Order
China’s advertisement law opens with abstract language highlighting its intent: “to maintain social and economic order as well as the promotion of a healthy advertisement industry.”
The words here may be vague, but they set up the framework for what China’s government wants to get out of setting up advertisement laws. Ads are intended to help companies promote themselves and make a profit, but unregulated industries and practices could lead to harmful results.
Many in North America know the term snake oil refers to deceptive marketing practices and is often a byword for scams. This refers to the infamous snake oil sales of the 18th century, which were sold as a cure-all elixir but offered none of the promised benefits.
Needless to say, many people could get hurt if companies were allowed to sell just about anything.
Other lines in the law may appear foreign to a non-Chinese citizen. For example, one line emphasizes how companies must “conform to the requirements of socialist spiritual civilization” and promote “the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation.”
While phrases like these may appear ambiguous, as we read the law further, they begin to make more sense.
Respect
Respect is a value that appears in China’s advertisement law, perhaps revealing what the aforementioned lines mean.
Companies promoting their products to society, like actors on a stage with a captive audience, are in a privileged position. As such, their advertisements shape the perceptions and desires of Chinese citizens. Although all advertisers have the goal of making money, they should remember, as the law states, “to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.”
The law goes further into this topic later on in Article 10, where it asserts, “advertisements shall not harm the physical or mental health of minors and disabled persons.”
Article 38 mentions that companies cannot use anyone under the age of 10 as an advertising spokesperson.
Article 39 also prohibits anyone from advertising within primary and secondary schools, while Article 40 highlights the effect ads can have on China’s youth:
“It is forbidden to publish medical, pharmaceutical, health food, medical device, cosmetic, alcohol, and beauty advertisements, as well as online game advertisements that are detrimental to the physical and mental health of minors, in mass media targeting minors.
Advertisements for goods or services targeting minors under the age of fourteen shall not contain content that does the following:
(1) Induces them to ask their parents to purchase advertised goods or services;
(2) Possibly causes them to imitate unsafe behaviors.”
The concept of respect found in the advertisement law deals with other subjects too, some of which may even appear a little unfamiliar to a non-Chinese person. Article 9, for example, deals with commercials related to national symbols and songs:
“Advertisements shall not have any of the following circumstances:
(1) Using or disguising the use of the national flag, national anthem, national emblem of the People’s Republic of China, or military flag, military song, or military emblem;
(2) Using or disguising the use of the names or images of state organs or state organ staff;
(3) Using terms such as ‘national level,’ ‘highest level,’ or ‘best’;
(4) Damaging the dignity or interests of the country or divulging state secrets;
(5) Hindering social stability or harming public interest;
(6) Endangering personal or property safety or divulging personal privacy;
(7) Hindering social public order or violating good social customs;
(8) Containing obscene, pornographic, gambling, superstitious, terrifying, or violent content;
(9) Containing ethnic, racial, religious, or gender discrimination;
(10) Hindering environmental, natural resource, or cultural heritage protection;
(11) Other circumstances prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.”
In the above article, we find statements that illustrate what the law means by “maintaining order.” As any company using icons to create a brand knows, imagery carries meaning. The same is true with a country’s flag or anthem.
The regulations here could be unusual for a company marketing in other countries. Of course, as a foreign brand, you may never consider using a Chinese flag to sell a product, and while it may be appropriate in the United States or elsewhere to use a flag to promote a product, it isn’t in China.
China’s lawmakers may have been concerned that by using a flag to promote something hoi polloi like a car or laundry detergent, companies would be diluting, and therefore disrespecting, the meaning embedded in the Chinese flag.
This concept of respect also includes fellow competitors in the market. Article 13, for example, stresses that companies cannot disparage the products of others.
Equality
You may have noticed in the last section the clause prohibiting the use of phrases like national level, highest level, or best. Here we have the concept of equality being put forth.
The writers of the law may have thought the proliferation of the above terms would lead to unfair competitive practices and the cementation of monopolies.
Anyone who has ever stepped foot in the United States can tell you how common it is to see phrases like best in the world or world-famous, even if it is clear that their product is no better (or worse) than the next ten brands making the same claims.
Truthfulness
Another reason for not allowing phrases like best may be the desire to keep advertising truthful in China. After all, although everyone who sees the claim world famous knows it’s an exaggeration, the owner/seller is still not telling the truth to some extent.
Many other articles in China’s advertising law illustrate this. For example, false or misleading information is not allowed in commercials. Article 11 states the following:
“If advertisements use evidentiary content such as data, statistical materials, survey results, abstracts, or quotations, they shall be true and accurate and indicate the source. If the evidentiary content has a scope of application and validity period, it shall be clearly indicated.”
Article 8 demands that advertisements with gifts or promotional items “clearly indicate the type, specifications, quantity, duration, and method of the gift or promotion.”
Another way the law is structured to uphold the truth can be found in Article 12:
“If an advertisement involves patented products or patented methods, the patent number and patent type shall be indicated. Without obtaining patent rights, it is not allowed to falsely claim patent rights in advertisements. It is forbidden to use patent applications that have not been granted patent rights and patents that have been terminated, revoked, or invalidated for advertising.”
The demand for truthfulness extends to the nature of how companies advertise. Advertisements cannot be disguised as a news report or something else. Indeed, all ads must be clearly labeled as such. This also links back to the earlier discussion on respecting consumers.
The full extent of this provision is vague. After all, many of these rules were made in the 1990s (a time before social media existed). Today, it is very common to find people on social media advertising brands without labeling their videos as commercials, just like in English-speaking countries.
Note that one penalty for making false advertisements is recorded later on in Article 38:
“Natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations that have been subject to administrative penalties for making recommendations or certifications in false advertisements within three years shall not be used as advertising spokespersons.”
Later on, Articles 55 and 56 give more details on these penalties, stressing that those who violate the law will be ordered to cease “the publication of the advertisements, order the advertisers to eliminate the impact within the corresponding scope, impose a fine of three to five times the advertising expenses, or, if the advertising expenses cannot be calculated or are significantly low, impose a fine of 200,000 to 1,000,000 yuan.”
The price of being at fault increases if a company does it three or more times, and companies in this position will have their business license revoked.
Penalties are even harsher if a company knows its advertisements are lying. In fact, they will be given “a fine of three to five times the advertising expenses, or, if the advertising expenses cannot be calculated or are significantly low, impose a fine of 200,000 to 1,000,000 yuan.”
If a company’s false advertisements result in the rights and interests of a consumer being damaged, the advertiser will bear civil liability.
Special Rules for Pharma, Health, & Liquor Companies
Earlier, I mentioned how Europe and the USA approach drug advertisements differently. The same is true for China.
For example, China has strict rules around where pharma, health, and liquor companies can advertise. Article 23 states that alcohol ads cannot have people drinking. Alcohol companies are even prohibited from having people driving cars, ships, or airplanes in their commercials.
Here we see how China’s law understands the role advertising has in constructing values within society. Perhaps this rule was set in place out of the belief that associating a rich lifestyle with alcohol in the media could lead to people believing that drinking leads to wealth.
The truthfulness pillars of China’s advertising law can be seen in articles related to these three industries. For example, medical, drug, and health advertisements are prohibited from overstating the efficacy of drugs.
Unlike apparel or tech companies (where people purchase items for entertainment), pharma brands advertise products that help consumers improve their health; however, these companies are prohibited from claiming their products can replace actual medicine.
Once again, we see the theme of equality in articles related to pharma and medical companies. Articles 16 through 18 prevent companies from comparing themselves to others and guaranteeing that any drug will work perfectly.
I have not listed every article related to these industries, but most follow the same train of thought as the above.
Special Rules for the Education Industry
Education, like pharma and health, is another industry with a special consumer relationship. The following rules carry on the relationship between truthfulness and respect that make up the spirit of the overall advertisement law.
Article 24 states that education and training advertisements cannot contain the following content:
“(1) Making express or implied guaranteed promises of admission to higher education, passing exams, obtaining academic degrees or qualification certificates, or the effects of education and training;
(2) Expressly or implicitly indicating that relevant examination institutions or their staff or examination question setters participate in education and training;
(3) Using the names or images of scientific research units, academic institutions, educational institutions, industry associations, professionals, and beneficiaries for recommendations and certifications.”
Special Rules for the Finance & Real Estate Industries
Finance is another industry that gets special attention in China’s advertising law.
The real estate industry is similar to both the finance and education sectors. Some individuals see homes as a financial investment more than a place to live. The regulations below align with how the spirit of the law aims to uphold order. If real estate ever got too much out of control, leading to too many people without homes, it could lead to disorder:
“Article 25: Advertisements for goods or services with expected investment returns, such as investment promotions, shall have reasonable prompts or warnings about possible risks and risk liability, and shall not contain the following content:
(1) Making guaranteed promises about future effects, returns, or related situations, expressly or implicitly indicating principal protection, no risk, or guaranteed returns, unless otherwise stipulated by the state;
(2) Using the names or images of academic institutions, industry associations, professionals, and beneficiaries for recommendations and certifications.
Article 26: For real estate advertisements, information about housing sources shall be true, the area shall be indicated as the construction area or the internal construction area, and shall not contain the following content:
(1) Promises of appreciation or investment returns;
(2) Indicating the location of the project by the time required to reach a specific reference point;
(3) Violating national regulations on price management;
(4) Making misleading publicity about transportation, commercial, cultural, educational facilities, and other municipal conditions under planning or construction.”
Rules to Help You Protect Your Business
There are also provisions of China’s advertisement law that your company may want to be aware of.
There is always a likelihood someone will use your name or image to advertise something, particularly given that some individuals take advantage of the fact that foreigners cannot speak Chinese and don’t spend time on Chinese social media.
Article 33 covers situations like this:
“If an advertiser or advertising operator uses the name or image of another person in an advertisement, they shall obtain the written consent of that person in advance; if they use the name or image of a person without civil capacity or a person with limited civil capacity, they shall obtain the written consent of their guardian in advance.”
The Chinese government also has a clause trying to hold platforms (where advertising takes place) accountable by pushing them to set up a system to monitor who is advertising:
“Article 34: Advertising operators and advertising publishers shall establish and improve a system for accepting, registering, reviewing, and archiving advertising business in accordance with relevant national regulations.
Advertising operators and advertising publishers shall verify relevant supporting documents and check advertising content in accordance with laws and administrative regulations. Advertising operators shall not provide design, production, or agency services for advertisements with inconsistent content or incomplete supporting documents, and advertising publishers shall not publish them.”
This system should also include the publication of fees and payment methods (Article 35).
It’s important to point out that China may be far stricter in this regard than other countries. For example, I post videos on Chinese and English social media and have promoted my services on some of these in the past. On TikTok and Instagram, I posted without any problem, but on Rednote, my video promoting translation services got flagged, and no one could see the video afterward. I received a message asking me to change my account type to post ads.
You can learn about setting up and verifying a Rednote account here.
Contact Us
This has not been an exhaustive list of all of the advertisement laws (there are many more). However, the ones covered in the post have been selected for their relevance for foreign companies and brands wanting to advertise their products or services in China.
If you have any other questions or are interested in marketing in China with an agency with close to two decades of experience helping foreign companies correctly navigate and thrive in the world’s second-largest economy, feel free to reach out to us!