Advertising in China: Guidelines for the Enforcement on the Use of Absolute Terms in Advertising — State Administration for Market Regulation, Document No. 6 of 2023.

To regulate and strengthen the supervision and enforcement of absolute terms in advertising, effectively maintain order in the advertising market, and protect the lawful rights and interests of natural persons, legal persons, and other organizations, these Guidelines are formulated in accordance with the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Advertising Law), the Administrative Penalty Law of the People’s Republic of China, and other relevant laws, regulations, and national provisions.

Article 1
The purpose of these Guidelines is to provide guidance for market regulation authorities in carrying out the supervision and enforcement of absolute terms in advertising. They are intended to serve as a reference for market regulation departments at all local levels in their enforcement practices.

Article 2
For the purposes of these Guidelines, the term “absolute terms in advertising” refers to the circumstances prescribed in Article 9, Item (3) of the Advertising Law, including expressions such as “national-level,” “top-level,” “best,” and other words or phrases with the same or similar meanings.

Article 3
When market regulation authorities carry out supervision and enforcement over commercial advertisements containing absolute terms, they shall adhere to the principles of proportionality between violation and penalty, fairness and impartiality, combining punishment with education, and comprehensive discretion, in order to achieve the unity of political, social, and legal effects.

Article 4
Where a commodity operator (including service providers, hereinafter the same) publishes information such as its name, abbreviation, logo, date of establishment, or business scope at its place of business, on its own website, or through other media over which it has lawful usage rights, and such publication does not directly or indirectly promote goods or services, it shall generally not be regarded as advertising.
However, if the information described in the preceding paragraph contains absolute terms, and the operator cannot substantiate their truthfulness, thereby potentially affecting consumers’ right to know or infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of other operators, the matter shall be investigated and handled in accordance with other applicable laws and regulations.

Article 5
In any of the following circumstances, where the use of absolute terms in an advertisement does not refer to the goods or services promoted by the commodity operator, the provisions of the Advertising Law concerning absolute terms shall not apply:

1. Where the expression merely conveys the service attitude, business philosophy, corporate culture, or subjective aspiration of the commodity operator;
2. Where the expression merely represents the operator’s goals or pursuits;
3. Where the content indicated by the absolute term is not directly related to the performance or quality of the goods or services promoted in the advertisement, and is not likely to mislead consumers.

Article 6
In any of the following circumstances, where the absolute terms used in an advertisement refer to the goods or services promoted by the commodity operator, but do not result in misleading consumers or disparaging other operators, the provisions of the Advertising Law concerning absolute terms shall not apply:

1. Where the terms are used solely for self-comparison among goods or services under the same brand or within the same enterprise;
2. Where the terms are used only to describe consumption-related information, such as methods of use, duration of use, or shelf life;
3. Where absolute terms appear in product grading terminology established according to national, industry, or local standards, and the basis for such classification can be substantiated;
4. Where absolute terms are included in a product’s name, specification, model, registered trademark, or patent, and the advertisement uses such names, models, trademarks, or patents solely to identify or distinguish the product;
5. Where absolute terms are contained in awards or titles evaluated and conferred in accordance with relevant state regulations;
6. Where, under specific time or regional conditions, the advertisement objectively describes chronological or spatial facts, or promotes factual information such as product sales volume, sales revenue, or market share.

Article 7
Where absolute terms used in an advertisement fall under the circumstances specified in Articles 5 or 6 of these Guidelines, but the advertiser cannot substantiate their truthfulness, the matter shall be investigated and handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law.

Article 8
When market regulation authorities impose administrative penalties for the use of absolute terms in advertising, they shall act in accordance with the Advertising Law and other applicable laws and regulations, and shall take into account the advertising content, specific context, and the facts, nature, circumstances, degree of social harm, and the advertiser’s subjective fault. Authorities shall accurately determine the scope of enforcement and exercise administrative discretion in a reasonable manner.

Article 9
Except for the circumstances specified in Articles 5 and 6 of these Guidelines, where absolute terms are used in an advertisement for the first time, and the resulting harmful consequences are minor and have been promptly corrected, no administrative penalty may be imposed.

Article 10
Where a commodity operator uses absolute terms in advertisements published at its place of business, on its own website, or through other media over which it has lawful usage rights, and such use is of short duration or has limited exposure, causing no harmful consequences and has been promptly corrected, no administrative penalty shall be imposed in accordance with the law. Where the harmful consequences are minor, administrative penalties may be mitigated or reduced in accordance with the law.
Other cases in which penalties may be mitigated, reduced, or exempted shall comply with the provisions of the Administrative Penalty Law of the People’s Republic of China and other applicable laws, regulations, as well as the Guiding Opinions of the State Administration for Market Regulation on Regulating the Exercise of Administrative Penalty Discretion by Market Supervision and Regulation Authorities.

Article 11
In any of the following circumstances, the act shall generally not be regarded as a minor violation or one with low social harm:

1. Where advertisements for medical services, medical cosmetology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, nutraceuticals, or foods for special medical purposes contain absolute terms related to efficacy, cure rate, or effectiveness rate;
2. Where advertisements for goods or services involving investment expectations contain absolute terms related to investment returns, profitability, or capital security;
3. Where advertisements for education or training contain absolute terms related to the institution itself or the effectiveness of the education or training.

Article 12
Market regulation authorities may, in accordance with relevant provisions, formulate and dynamically update a list of minor violations involving the use of absolute terms in advertising that are exempt from administrative penalties in accordance with the law.