China Steps Up Anti-Corruption Enforcement with New Regulatory Frameworks

The recently issued Interpretation (II) on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Corruption and Bribery (Fa Shi [2026] No. 6 (the Interpretation (II)) and the Administration Measures for Medical Representatives are intended to strengthen China’s broader anti-corruption regulatory framework and China’s anti-corruption efforts in the pharmaceutical industry, respectively.

On April 10, 2026, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate jointly issued the Interpretation (II) effective May 1. This is the first major update to the 2016 Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Corruption and Bribery (Fa Shi [2016] No. 9) in a decade, introducing substantial changes to the criminal legal framework governing bribery and corruption.

The update strengthens China’s anti-corruption regulatory framework, intensifies enforcement efforts, and underscores the importance of robust anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance across all industries.

Shortly thereafter, on May 7, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in collaboration with six other government authorities jointly issued the Administrative Measures for Medical Representatives (the Medical Representatives Measures), which will take effect on August 1, 2026.

These Measures replace the 2020 Measures for the Administration of the Filing of Medical Representatives (Trial), strictly regulating the academic promotion activities of medical representatives, reinforcing the compliance responsibilities of marketing authorization holders (MAHs), and introducing a cross-agency governance framework.

By aligning with the Interpretation (II), these measures mark a new phase in China’s anti-corruption efforts in the pharmaceutical industry, featuring comprehensive oversight and enhanced coordination between enforcement and penalties.

These new rules underscore the need for companies to maintain robust anti-bribery policies and effective implementation and remain vigilant about potential criminal liability exposure for commercial bribery. Particularly, pharmaceutical companies operating in China should update their compliance policies and align practices with the new rules.

Among other measures, pharmaceutical companies should consider improving and strengthening their comprehensive oversight management systems for medical representatives, reviewing their existing compliance policies to confirm they address all nine prohibited acts applicable to medical representatives, and reviewing their agreements with contract sales organizations (CSOs) to confirm that their outsourcing arrangements include appropriate compliance requirements.

THE INTERPRETATION (II)

Harmonization of Criminal Standards for Non-State Functionaries with Those Applicable to State Functionaries

Article 8 of the Interpretation (II) provides that the crimes of accepting bribes by non-state functionaries, offering bribes to non-state functionaries, occupational embezzlement, and misappropriation of funds shall be convicted and sentenced by reference to the standards applicable to the crimes of accepting bribes by state functionaries, offering bribes (including bribery by a unit to state functionaries), corruption, and misappropriation of public funds, respectively.

This significantly narrows the distinction in criminal liability for corruption and bribery crimes between non-state functionaries and state functionaries; in the past such conduct by non-state functionaries was subject to relatively higher monetary thresholds for criminal liability and sentencing. As a result, it significantly increases potential criminal exposure for individuals and companies in the private sector.

Clarification of Sentencing Standards and Attribution Rules for Unit Crimes

Regarding the crime of accepting bribes by a unit, the Interpretation II clarifies the specific criteria for “serious circumstances” and “particularly serious circumstances,” thereby addressing the previous lack of detailed sentencing guidelines for such offenses.

Articles 15 and 16 of the Interpretation (II) distinguish between unit crimes and individual crimes from the perspective of the ultimate attribution of interests, which makes it difficult to attribute a collective decision to offer bribes solely to an individual. Conversely, when an individual offers or accepts bribes in the name of a unit but actually obtains the improper interests, the individual should bear personal liability.

Clarified Definition of Bribe Introduction

Article 17 of the Interpretation (II) clarifies the meaning of “bribe introduction” under Article 392 of the Criminal Law, explaining that it refers to acts of establishing a connection and arranging the terms between a person seeking a favor and a government official, thereby enabling the bribery to occur. This interpretation further strengthens the crackdown on intermediaries that facilitate bribery.

THE MEDICAL REPRESENTATIVE MEASURES

China’s healthcare sector has been a key focus of anti-bribery enforcement efforts. The 2020 Measures for the Administration of the Filing of Medical Representatives (Trial) required only filing and registration of medical representatives without clearly delineating the boundaries between academic promotion and commercial sales. The 2020 Measures’ restrictions on practices such as commercial bribery and commission-based sales were also insufficient, resulting in limited deterrent effect.

According to the NMPA, the Medical Representative Measures are aimed at further strengthening the management of medical sales representatives, rectifying and improving industry practices and ethics, and establishing sound systems for personnel management, interdepartmental coordination, and the enforcement of penalties for violations of laws and regulations.

Nine Prohibited Acts in Academic Promotion

Medical representatives are responsible for the academic promotion of pharmaceuticals on behalf of MAHs. The Medical Representative Measures require medical representatives to strictly comply with relevant compliance guidelines and codes of conduct when carrying out academic promotion activities.

The Medical Representative Measures set out the following nine categories of prohibited conduct for academic promotion to close loopholes from multiple angles and prevent commercial bribery:

1. Engaging in academic promotion activities without prior filing or registration
2. Conducting academic promotion activities without the consent of healthcare institutions
3. Undertaking pharmaceutical sales tasks, including collecting payments and handling sales invoices and receipts
4. Participating in or commissioning healthcare institution staff to collect data on the number of prescriptions issued by individual healthcare providers (HCPs)
5. Providing donations, grants, or sponsorships to healthcare institutions on the condition that they purchase a certain amount or quantity of drugs; providing benefits in disguise under the guise of donations, grants, or sponsorships; or giving gifts, cash, gift cards (vouchers), securities, equity interests, or other financial products
6. Providing kickbacks, donations, grants, or sponsorships, or offering gifts, cash, gift cards (vouchers), securities, equity interests, or other financial products to healthcare institution staff, their spouses, children, spouses of children, or other relatives and persons with specific relationships, under any pretext or in any form
7. Misleading HCPs about pharmaceutical use, exaggerating or misrepresenting therapeutic effects, concealing information on known adverse drug reactions or adverse events reported by physicians, and other acts that interfere with or influence the rational clinical use of drugs
8. Illegally collecting, using, or disseminating patient information and internal information of healthcare institutions
9. Conducting academic promotion activities for pharmaceuticals other than those authorized by the MAHs

Primary Responsibilities of MAHs

The Medical Representative Measures underscore MAHs’ management responsibility for medical representatives and professional organizations they authorize by including a dedicated section on MAH oversight and management. Accordingly, MAHs are expected to face increased liability exposure for misconduct by the medical representatives they employ and the professional organizations they authorize, such as CSOs.

Under the Medical Representative Measures, MAHs shall establish management systems for medical representatives governing their recruitment, authorization, registration, training, evaluation, and academic promotion activities, thereby strengthening comprehensive oversight of their professional conduct. MAHs or the professional organizations that MAHs authorize are prohibited from hiring or authorizing medical representatives who lack the required qualifications or have records of commercial bribery.

The Medical Representative Measures notably provide that MAHs may neither instruct medical representatives to engage in illegal acts nor condone such conduct. Condonation is usually aimed at a broader range of culpable conduct than “instruction” because it can capture tolerating/overlooking misconduct by medical representatives rather than only actively directing it.

Additionally, CSOs are now under strict regulatory scrutiny. When MAHs outsource promotional activities to CSOs, MAHs shall assess the CSOs’ capabilities, agree on compliance requirements and liability for violations, and enter into a medical representative management agreement. This change reduces the possibility to evade compliance oversight by outsourcing to CSOs, effectively preventing the shifting of risk to third parties.

Cross-Agency Enforcement Collaboration and Joint Sanctions

The Medical Representatives Measures were developed under the leadership of the NMPA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Security, the National Health Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Healthcare Security Administration, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention.

These bodies are tasked with creating mechanisms for information sharing, lead referral, case notification, and coordination between administrative and criminal functions across their oversight, inspection, and complaint-handling roles. The joint effort of these seven departments aims to overcome fragmented law enforcement, where each department previously managed only its own area, and to effectively implement joint sanctions for violations by medical representatives.