China is a country of focus for the Self-Regulation, Drink Driving, and Noncommercial Alcohol initiatives of Global Actions on Harmful Drinking.

Self-Regulation: Beverage alcohol companies are collaborating with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and ICAP to strengthen cross-industry self-regulation. In countries where self-regulation efforts are already underway but could benefit from further development or refinement, we are working with fellow stakeholders to ensure that cross-industry self-regulation systems operate effectively, reflect international standards of good practice, and are recognized publicly.

Since 2010, the China Association of National Advertisers (CANA), the China Advertising Association (CAA), the China Advertising Association of Commerce (CAAC), and WFA have been working towards establishing cross-industry advertising self-regulation in China to reflect international good practice.

In addition, ICAP is collaborating with the China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association (CADIA) on an alcohol specific advertising code for the Chinese market.

A key milestone was reached in April 2011 when the first principles for advertising ethics were launched in China by CANA, the CAA, the CAAC, and WFA. Work is now underway, in close collaboration with WFA and partners that include leading multinational corporations and Global Actions sponsors, to transform these principles into a fully-fledged self-regulatory code, and to set up an effective enforcement system.

Chinese translations have been completed of International Guide to developing a self-regulatory organization and Alcohol module: Looking at advertising self-regulatory standards related to alcoholic beverages.

Background: China is the second largest advertising market in the world. It continues to grow rapidly and is an increasingly important market for major brands. Advertising in China is governed by the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China, which was adopted in 1994 and entered into force in 1995. Under the Advertising Law, various regulations have been promulgated by several agencies, including the State Food and Drug Administration. The Advertising Law and additional regulations are enforced by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The China Advertising Association (CAA) is responsible for screening ads before they air to ensure compliance with applicable rules and regulations. There is currently no cross-industry advertising self-regulatory system in China.

Drink Driving: After conducting initial discussions with international partners, ICAP is developing capacity-building modules in preparation for pilot training to be conducted in China in the September through December 2010 time frame. An international, cross-functional senior advisory group is assisting ICAP in the design of the initiative. Training and a launch event will be scheduled for the latter part of 2010. In addition, briefings with senior government officials and industry representatives are now being conducted.

Noncommercial Alcohol: The focus of our work in China (as in all nine countries that are part of this initiative) is to measure the extent and nature of noncommercial alcohol production and consumption, help set the agenda for interventions at national and regional levels, and launch a program of action to reduce problems.

Upon completion of a pilot study, we are now working with local researchers in the implementation of an expanded study.

We will report progress regularly, so please visit this page again soon for ongoing updates on our efforts.