Notice from the State Administration for Market Regulation on Public Solicitation of Comments for the "Administrative Measures for the Adoption of International Standards (Draft for Comments)"

To further strengthen the management of adopting international standards, in accordance with the "Standardization Law of the People's Republic of China" and other relevant regulations, the State Administration for Market Regulation has organized revisions to the "Measures for the Management of Adopting International Standards" and drafted the "Measures for the Management of Adopting International Standards (Draft for Comments)", now open to public consultation. Relevant units or individuals are welcome to submit amendments and provide feedback to the State Administration for Market Regulation by June 8, 2024. The public can submit opinions through the following channels and methods:

1. Log in to the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation (URL: http://www.samr.gov.cn), and submit opinions through the "Survey" section under the "Interaction" column on the homepage.

2. Send opinions via email to: huhx@samr.gov.cn, please indicate "Feedback on the Measures for the Management of Adopting International Standards" in the email subject.

3. Mailing address: No. 9, Madiandong Road, Haidian District, Beijing, Standard Innovation Department, State Administration for Market Regulation, postal code 100088. Please mark "Feedback on the Measures for the Management of Adopting International Standards" on the envelope.

Article 1 [Legislative Purpose] To strengthen the management of adopting international standards, improve the consistency between China's standards and international standards, steadily expand the institutional openness of the standards system, enhance the quality of Chinese products and services, and accelerate the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, these Measures are formulated in accordance with the "Standardization Law of the People's Republic of China", referring to relevant provisions of the World Trade Organization and international standard organizations, and combined with China's actual conditions.

Article 2 [Definition] The term "adopting international standards" in these Measures refers to the formulation of national standards based on standards developed and published by international standard organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (hereinafter collectively referred to as international standard organizations) after analysis, research, and necessary experimental verification. 。

Article 3 [Division of Responsibilities] The administrative department for standardization under the State Council uniformly manages the work of adopting international standards. Relevant administrative departments of the State Council and related industry associations provide business guidance on adopting international standards within their departments and industries according to their responsibilities.

Article 4 [Principles of Adoption] The adoption of international standards shall comply with Chinese laws and regulations and the intellectual property policies of international standard organizations, ensuring technological advancement, economic rationality, and safety and reliability.

The formulation of national standards should prioritize the adoption of international standards in combination with China's national conditions. When adopting international standards, it is encouraged to draft corresponding national standards on a one-to-one basis. If a one-to-one correspondence is not feasible due to practical needs, efforts should be made to keep the national standard system coordinated with the international standard system.

Basic international standards such as terminology standards, symbol standards, classification standards, and test standards should be given priority in adoption.

Article 5 [Degree of Adoption] The degree of adoption of international standards is divided into identical adoption and modified adoption.

Identical adoption means that the technical content and text structure of the national standard are the same as the adopted international standard, allowing for permissible editorial changes, designated as IDT.

Modified adoption means that the technical content or text structure of the national standard differs from the adopted international standard, clearly explaining these differences and their causes, while retaining most of the content and important clauses, designated as MOD.

Article 6 [Reducing Differences] Identical adoption of international standards is encouraged. Due to the need to protect personal health and life property safety, national security, ecological environment safety, or differences in basic climate, geography, technology, and other conditions, reasonable and necessary modifications may be made when formulating national standards.

Article 7 [Tracking International Developments] Domestic technical counterparts of international standard organizations should track and study the latest developments and trends of international standards. Updates during the international standard formulation stage should be reported to relevant parties such as the national professional standardization technical committees within 30 days.

Article 8 [Applicability Analysis] The administrative department for standardization under the State Council shall organize technical committees or experts to study and analyze the applicability of relevant international standards in their fields to China's national conditions. Applicability analysis generally includes the following content:

(1) Whether it complies with Chinese laws, administrative regulations, and mandatory standards; whether it aligns with relevant industry plans and industrial policies; the feasibility of applying intellectual property related to international standards in China, etc.;

(2) Compatibility with China's basic climate, geography, and other natural conditions; friendliness to cultural factors such as religion and customs;

(3) Technological advancement, conformity of technical content with China's technological development direction, operability in China, and coordination of related technical requirements with Chinese standards;

(4) Expected economic, social, and ecological benefits of implementation, including roles in promoting industrial development, regulating social governance, and facilitating domestic and international trade.

Article 9 [Verification] The administrative department for standardization under the State Council shall organize technical committees or experts to conduct verification of current international standards' technical requirements, test and inspection methods, etc., as needed, including adaptability to China's application environment, production processes, equipment, whether test and inspection conditions can be met, operability of methods, and reproducibility of results.

Article 10 [Project Application] Relevant administrative departments of the State Council and technical committees shall, according to their responsibilities, promptly submit project applications for national standards adopting suitable international standards to the administrative department for standardization under the State Council. The project application should include explanations of the stage of the international standard to be adopted, applicability, and degree of adoption.

For international standards proposed for modified adoption, the draft standard should clearly specify the main technical differences from the adopted international standard.

Article 11 [Project Evaluation] The administrative department for standardization under the State Council shall organize national standard professional review agencies to evaluate project applications for national standards adopting international standards. The evaluation should include the following:

(1) Whether it complies with the intellectual property policies of international standard organizations;

(2) Whether the degree of adoption of international standards is reasonable;

(3) The status of the adopted international standard under development and the feasibility of synchronously developing it as a national standard.

Article 12 [Adopt All Suitable] National standard projects adopting international standards that pass project evaluation shall, in principle, be given priority for project approval.

Article 13 [Development Cycle] The formulation of national standards adopting international standards is encouraged to be synchronized with the corresponding international standard development. When adopting current international standards, the period from project planning to submission of approval materials for national standard projects adopting international standards generally shall not exceed twelve months.

Article 14 [Drafting Requirements] The drafting of national standards adopting international standards shall meet the requirements of drafting national standards based on international standards. The structure of clauses, sentence patterns, and rhetorical methods shall conform to Chinese expression habits.

Article 15 [Project Approval] The approval materials for adopting national standards based on international standards shall include the adopted international standard translations, a reasonable explanation of differences when modifying the adopted international standards, and, if necessary, provide experimental verification materials.

Article 16 [Approval Review] The administrative department for standardization under the State Council shall entrust the national standard professional review agency to review the approval materials for adopting national standards based on international standards. The review shall include the following content:

(1) Whether the approval materials clearly explain the applicability of the international standards to China's national conditions and have undergone necessary experimental verification;

(2) Whether the quality of the standard drafting meets the requirements for drafting national standards based on international standards;

(3) Whether it complies with the intellectual property policies of international standard organizations;

(4) Other content that needs to be reviewed.

Article 17 [Numbering Rules] When equivalently adopting international standards, the number of the adopted national standard shall be marked along with the number of the adopted international standard. When modifying the adopted international standard, the number of the adopted international standard shall not be marked after the national standard number.

Article 18 [Standard Publication] After the release of the adopted national standard, if the text needs to be made public, it shall comply with the intellectual property policies of international standard organizations and choose an appropriate scope and form of disclosure.

Article 19 [Encouraging Participation in Formulation and Implementation] The standardization administrative departments of people's governments at or above the county level and relevant administrative departments shall, based on actual conditions, create favorable conditions for producers, operators, users, consumers, public interest parties, and other relevant parties in their regions and industries to participate in the formulation and implementation of adopted national standards.

Article 20 [Statistical Analysis] The administrative department for standardization under the State Council and relevant administrative departments shall organize the comparison of domestic and international standards in key areas according to their responsibilities, compile statistics on the transformation of international standards, and collect and analyze information on the implementation of adopted national standards.

Article 21 [Evaluation Feedback] The administrative department for standardization under the State Council shall organize evaluations of the effects and roles of adopted national standards in improving the quality of China's products, processes, and services, and promoting trade facilitation, and provide feedback on existing problems and revision suggestions to international standard organizations.

Article 22 [Standard Maintenance] After the release of adopted national standards, relevant administrative departments of the State Council, relevant industry associations, or technical committees shall continuously conduct applicability studies on updates such as amendments and revisions of the adopted international standards. When minor technical requirements of the adopted international standards are adjusted, supplemented, or deleted and applicable in China, the adopted national standards shall be promptly revised through national standard amendment notices; when there are significant changes in the adopted international standards, a timely review shall be conducted based on the evaluation of the standard implementation effect, and revision or abolition shall be expedited.

Article 23 [Benchmarking and Compliance] Enterprises are encouraged to target advanced international and foreign standards, actively carry out domestic and international standard comparison and analysis, formulate and implement scientifically advanced enterprise standards, and promote the upgrading of enterprise products and services.

Article 24 [Adopting Others] When there is a genuine need and the international standard organization has not formulated or the formulated and released standards are not applicable, national standards may be formulated based on standards released by other international or foreign organizations, provided that the intellectual property policies of those organizations are complied with.

Article 25 [Method Coordination] The formulation, organization, implementation, and supervision of adopted national standards not stipulated in these Measures shall be carried out in accordance with the "National Standard Management Measures" and the "Mandatory National Standard Management Measures."

If it is necessary to adopt international standards to formulate industry standards, it shall be carried out in accordance with the "Industry Standard Management Measures."

Article 26 [Effective Date] These Measures shall come into effect from the date of promulgation. The "Measures for the Administration of Adopting International Standards" promulgated by the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on November 21, 2001, shall be repealed simultaneously.