China has promised to criminalize the use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) sometime next year according government officials. The new anti-doping legislation will include prison terms for athletes convicted of using prohibited PEDs.

Gou Zhongwen, the director of the Chinese State General Administration of Sports, has proposed the new anti-doping legislation in order to prove to the world that China is serious about stopping steroid use and doping in sports.

“We are nearing the end of our study and research into a judicial interpretation on anti-doping,” Zhongwen said. “It will be promulgated in 2019, probably in early 2019. Those guilty of doping will face criminal punishments.”

China is criminalizing doping as a public relations move in advance of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The timing of the announcement is no coincidence. China is set to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at venues in Beijing and other towns in the Hebei province between February 4, 2022 and February 20, 2022.

“It is our will to show the world we are really serious about anti-doping,” Zhongwen said, “and are taking concrete measures on fight against doping.”

China has a history of enacting stricter anti-doping legislation prior to major international sporting events. Government officials did the same thing when the 2008 Summer Olympics came to China.

China announced a crackdown on Chinese steroid powder suppliers prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The crackdown was clearly only temporary. The large-scale manufacture and export of steroid powder quickly resumed after the Olympic Games ended.

China currently supplies up to 99% of the raw steroid powder for the underground laboratories (UGLs) that manufacture steroid products for the androgen black market. China is the undisputable go-to source for steroid powder. This is well-known by bodybuilders, dealers, anti-doping officials and government officials.

If China really wants to crack down on doping, it will do much more than throw a few athletes in prison.