By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Shanghai meeting: STMA Deputy Administrator Wang Gongcheng met KT&G COO Lee Sang-hak on Sept. 1.
- Few details: China’s state tobacco system disclosed no agenda, agreements or potential areas of cooperation.
- HTP backdrop: The meeting comes as China develops a mandatory national standard for heated cigarettes.
KT&G has China Tobacco’s attention, but neither side is explaining why.
Wang Gongcheng, deputy administrator of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA), met with KT&G Chief Operating Officer Lee Sang-hak and his delegation in Shanghai on Sept. 1, according to Oriental Tobacco News, an official newspaper of China’s state tobacco system.
The two sides held “friendly talks,” according to the brief disclosure. It did not identify what was discussed, disclose potential areas of cooperation, or announce any agreements from the meeting.
Officials from the STMA’s General Office, which also handles foreign affairs, executives from China Tobacco International Group Co., Ltd., and representatives of other relevant organizations attended.
Wang, appointed deputy administrator in July 2023, oversees international operations within China’s state tobacco system. His position makes the meeting notable for KT&G, which has been expanding its international business in both conventional cigarettes and next-generation products.
But the timing is also interesting.
China is developing a mandatory national standard for heated cigarettes. A draft released for public comment in July sets out proposed requirements for tobacco sticks, heating devices, and aerosols as a single product system, including device and battery safety, heating-temperature controls, nicotine yield, child-resistant protections, packaging, and traceability. The consultation closes Sept. 26.
The draft does not select a preferred heating technology, leaving multiple architectures within the proposed framework.
That could be particularly relevant for international manufacturers developing new heated tobacco systems, although there is no public evidence linking KT&G’s meeting with Wang to the proposed standard or to potential entry into China’s domestic heated tobacco market.
The meeting also follows another recent exchange between STMA officials and a major international tobacco company. On Aug. 27, STMA Deputy Administrator Liu Sanjiang met with Philip Morris International Chief Global Research and Development Officer Michele Cattoni in Beijing. As with the KT&G meeting, the official disclosure provided no details on the substance of the discussions.
Separately, KT&G is preparing to launch a new heated tobacco platform in South Korea.
The lil Tonino Lamborghini device and dedicated NAU tobacco sticks are scheduled to launch in Seoul on Sept. 15. The device uses KT&G’s new FlashWave microwave-based heating technology, which the company says reduces heat-up time to approximately three seconds.
Neither STMA nor KT&G has publicly linked the Lil Tonino Lamborghini platform to the meeting, to China’s proposed heated-cigarette standard, or to any plans for commercial entry into mainland China.
