From June 1, 2008, a State Council rule banned the production, sale and use of shopping bags thinner than 0.025 millimeters, and shops had to charge for bags.
In 2016, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission reported that bag use in supermarkets and malls had generally fallen by more than two-thirds. The official also named the problems: enforcement in farmers’ markets was hard, the public’s understanding differed, and substitutes cost more. Reporters found compliant bags hard to find in the markets.