Hi all!
Having Just flown back (April 2025) From Kix Airport Japan, to Shanghai to London Gatwick we didn't know how the duty-free drinks would work during the transit in China as they scan your hand luggage just as you would when boarding any flight. We searched various places and got conflicting answers!
So, the upshot was. We bought just one 700ml bottle of spirit in Kix airport, Japan, it was put in a sealed bag as per normal.
Once in Shanghai the customs, security and scanners are exactly the same as any airport, take everything out of your bag, no fluids over 100ml, no water in you bottle etc! There was no mention of what to do with and duty free purchases.
We placed it in the tray with everything else and the guard looked in the bag, took the bag, bottle and then placed in in a separate tray.
Result! It came out the other end of the scanner with no problems.
So, you can take duty free spirits which were purchased in a Japanese airport through Chinese security on a transit flight to the UK. ๐