China: Nuclear Safety Law of the People's Republic of China (2017)
China's Nuclear Safety Law (in force since 1 January 2018) requires operators to obtain licences from the State Council's nuclear safety regulator for siting, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities, including a site selection review opinion, a construction licence of up to ten years and an operating licence for the design life. It also requires planning restricted zones around nuclear power plants. It is a framework statute, not a project permission.
- Category
- Laws, rules and executive directives
- Status
- In effect
- Instrument
- statute · 中华人民共和国核安全法 (Nuclear Safety Law of the PRC); adopted 1 September 2017 at the 29th session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress; in force 1 January 2018 (Article 94)
- Issued by
- Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (全国人民代表大会常务委员会)
- Jurisdiction
- China
- Affects
- National reactor licensing, Siting
- In effect from
- 1 Jan 2018 · actual · day
- Expiry or completion
- None recorded
- Operative text
- National People's Congress: 中华人民共和国核安全法 (Nuclear Safety Law of the PRC) (Text as adopted on 1 September 2017 (NPC website; no amendment shown))
- Record reviewed · next review
- 2026-10-18 · 2027-04-18 (dates our review of this record; not a statement of the measure's present legal effect)
Legal and geographic scope
National statute on nuclear safety. Article 6 makes the State Council's nuclear safety regulatory department responsible for nuclear safety supervision (the text does not use the name of the agency). Article 22 sets up a nuclear facility safety licensing system: operators apply to that department for siting, construction, operation and decommissioning. Article 23 requires a siting safety analysis report and a site selection review opinion; Article 25 requires a construction application with a preliminary safety analysis report and environmental impact documents; Article 26 limits a construction licence to ten years; Article 27 requires an operation application before first fuel loading and sets the operating licence term at the design life; Article 28 requires an extension application five years before expiry. Article 21 has provincial governments protect planned sites of nuclear power plants and other important facilities and draw planning restricted zones around them with the regulator's consent, and bans flammable, explosive or corrosive facilities and densely populated places in those zones. It does not license any facility.
Not approved or still pending
Implementing administrative regulations, NNSA siting and design safety regulations and the planning restricted-zone decisions of individual provinces were not reviewed. Whether the statute has been amended since 2017 was checked only against the NPC page. It licenses nothing by itself; project licences are separate regulator decisions.
Dated lifecycle
- 1 Sep 2017 · actual · day · Passed — Adopted by the NPC Standing Committee. (National People's Congress: 中华人民共和国核安全法 (Nuclear Safety Law of the PRC))
- 1 Jan 2018 · actual · day · Took effect — Article 94. (National People's Congress: 中华人民共和国核安全法 (Nuclear Safety Law of the PRC))
Definitions in this instrument
- 核设施营运单位 (nuclear facility operator) (Article 93): A unit within the PRC that applies for or holds a nuclear facility safety licence and may operate the nuclear facility.
Legal definition used by this instrument only; SMRMap's inclusion rule for SMRs is separate and unchanged.
Related instruments
- China: Atomic Energy Law of the People's Republic of China (2025) (related)
- China: Safety licensing procedure for nuclear power plants, research reactors and fuel cycle facilities (MEE Order No. 8, 2019) (implemented by)
Projects or designs named by the source
- None. Location in this jurisdiction does not make a project eligible for, or approved under, this measure.
Sources
- National People's Congress: 中华人民共和国核安全法 (Nuclear Safety Law of the PRC) (government_primary, published 1 Sep 2017, accessed 2026-10-18)