China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) has announced comprehensive revisions to its regulatory framework governing overseas food manufacturers, with updated registration requirements taking effect June 1, 2026. The overhaul represents a significant advancement in China’s approach to imported food safety management, introducing dynamic categorization systems and refined risk assessment protocols.
The enhanced regulatory mechanism will establish three distinct classifications: a catalog of imported food products requiring official recommendation for registration, a list of products ineligible for automatic registration renewal, and a defined scope for overseas food storage facilities mandated to register. These determinations will incorporate multifaceted analysis of raw material sourcing, production methodologies, historical safety records, target consumer demographics, and consumption patterns, while maintaining alignment with international standards.
Registration validity remains set at five-year intervals with provisions for automatic renewal, except where specified otherwise. The GAC emphasized that these modifications aim to strengthen oversight capabilities while simultaneously facilitating smoother import trade operations. Official Li Jinsong clarified that the updated system maintains continuity with existing registration protocols, ensuring uninterrupted market access for currently registered international enterprises while offering enhanced operational convenience.
Since the initial implementation of registration requirements in 2022, China’s system has processed registrations from over 96,000 food manufacturers across 178 countries and territories. This framework has successfully introduced diverse specialty products—including Norwegian salmon and New Zealand frozen fruits—to Chinese consumers while supporting substantial trade growth from 1.05 trillion yuan (approximately $152.23 billion) in 2020 to 1.32 trillion yuan in 2025.