20th Anniversary of China's Reform and Opening-up: These Achievements Are Inspiring

August 20, 2002, Great Hall of the People, Beijing. As the curtain slowly lifted, enthusiastic applause broke out, marking the birth of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment. This was a commemorative day in the history of accreditation development, signifying the official establishment of a unified legal entity for accreditation institutions in China.

Under the high attention of the Party and the state to quality work, under the correct leadership of higher authorities, and with strong support from relevant government departments and all sectors of society, China's accreditation work has gone through an extraordinary development process—from budding to starting, from decentralized management to centralized unification, from international following to having the influence of a major power. It has undergone fundamental changes, achieving a leap from following and running alongside to leading in some areas, forging a path of accreditation development that combines internationalization with Chinese characteristics.

Now, let me take you through the 20-year history of unified accreditation development and review the exciting achievements in accreditation over these two decades:

On August 20, 2002, the press conference for the establishment of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment was held at the Great Hall of the People.

Establishing an accreditation work system of "unified system, joint participation"

On August 20, 2002, the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment was established, officially creating the legal entity platform for China's unified accreditation institution, marking the formal implementation phase of a centralized and unified accreditation system in China. On March 31, 2006, the China National Accreditation Committee for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) was officially established, achieving the centralization and unification of China's accreditation system and forming an accreditation work system of "unified system, joint participation."

Under the "unified system, joint participation" work system, the Accreditation Committee established an accreditation governance system composed of the General Committee, Executive Committee, Special Committees, and Professional Committees. Currently, there are 44 committees at various levels, forming an advanced structure of diversified governance.

In the co-construction of the national accreditation system, committee members have played roles in decision-making, communication coordination, and technical support for accreditation work, laying a solid foundation for the long-term healthy development of China's accreditation work. Subsequently, the Accreditation Committee successively established advisory mechanisms and end-user feedback mechanisms, continuously improving the work system. The "unified system, joint participation" accreditation work system has become an important pillar for the development of China's accreditation work.

Institutional development of accreditation in China

Since the unified development of China's accreditation work in 2002, the number of accreditation systems has increased more than fourfold, the number of accredited institutions has increased nearly twelvefold, and the number of certification certificates issued by accredited certification bodies has increased nearly fivefold.

CNAS has established four categories of accreditation systems: accreditation of certification bodies, laboratory accreditation, inspection body accreditation, and verification and validation body accreditation, with a total of 49 specific accreditation systems.

As of the end of June 2022, CNAS had cumulatively accredited 14,568 inspection, testing, and certification institutions, many of which are inspection and testing institutions and large groups, covering most industries of the national economy. Accredited certification bodies have issued more than 1.41 million certification certificates. The number of conformity assessment bodies and certification certificates accredited by CNAS has ranked first in the world for many years. Among them, China's accredited management system certifications account for one-quarter of global international mutual recognition, and accredited laboratories and inspection bodies account for one-eighth. Accreditation promotes the improvement of quality capabilities and safety levels of inspection, testing, and certification institutions, better conveying trust to the market.

The scope of accreditation services supporting the overall situation is expanding, and the range of its role is broadening. CNAS actively provides technical support for the administrative supervision of certification and testing by the State Administration for Market Regulation, undertaking special supervision and inspection of CCC mandatory product designated certification bodies, CCC mandatory product designated laboratories, voluntary certification bodies, and service certification bodies for many years, playing a strong technical support role in market supervision of inspection, testing, and certification. CNAS also actively completes various accreditation evaluation-related tasks for the State Administration for Market Regulation during major events and important incidents. Additionally, accreditation actively cooperates with more than 20 government departments and industry organizations, providing technical support services. In major events such as the Beijing Winter Olympics and the World Military Games, as well as key tasks like energy conservation and emission reduction, public health system construction, and quality management improvement for small and micro enterprises, accreditation has played a technical support role as part of the quality infrastructure.

The use of accreditation results by local governments is also showing a growth trend. In recent years, some provincial and municipal policy documents issued in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhejiang, Shandong, and other regions explicitly encourage inspection, testing, and certification institutions to apply for CNAS accreditation, and some even provide direct financial subsidies to accredited enterprises. Some industries and departments, such as electric power, construction, and customs, have a high degree of application of accreditation, with some using accreditation results as one of the conditions for authorization and bidding.

Internationalization development of accreditation in China

"Internationalization" is an important characteristic of the accreditation system. "Globalization" is the characteristic positioning of accreditation work in relevant documents of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. As a measure to reduce technical trade barriers, establishing a global mutual recognition system among accreditation bodies has become an important consensus among countries and relevant international organizations worldwide. Therefore, strengthening international cooperation and achieving international mutual recognition is an objective need for conformity assessment accreditation work.

International mutual recognition has been deeply promoted. As a member of IAF and ILAC, CNAS has signed 15 international multilateral mutual recognition agreements, covering all multilateral mutual recognition agreements of IAF, ILAC, and APAC. The agreement scope covers 105 countries/economies, accounting for more than 96% of the global economic total. Relying on the international mutual recognition system of IAF and ILAC, CNAS supports domestic inspection, testing, and certification institutions to expand international business, providing these conformity assessment bodies with conditions for equal dialogue internationally. In the field of bilateral accreditation cooperation, the role of accreditation in serving international trade continues to strengthen, with bilateral accreditation cooperation agreements signed with 27 countries. Relying on international multilateral mutual recognition and bilateral cooperation, CNAS accreditation has enhanced international trust in China's inspection, testing, and certification.

International influence continues to rise. In 2015, CNAS Secretary-General Xiao Jianhua was elected as IAF Chairman, becoming the first representative from a developing country to hold the highest position in this international organization. CNAS has established a team of highly skilled and capable international talents, closely tracking international accreditation development trends. More than 30 people hold various positions in international and regional accreditation cooperation organizations, and 12 serve as international peer reviewers. CNAS plays a role in serving the "Belt and Road" initiative through accreditation. It leads and participates in the formulation and revision of multiple international standards and guidelines.

Accreditation continuously enhances trade facilitation. Accreditation is the conformity assessment body capability evaluation method recommended by the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade rules. Its role in addressing technical trade barriers and promoting international trade development is increasingly prominent. For a long time, CNAS has continuously played the unique role of accreditation mutual recognition, keeping up with changes in relevant regulations and standards, successfully responding to technical trade measures set by multiple countries and international organizations for related products.

Innovative development of accreditation in China

China's accreditation work adheres to innovative development, forging a path of accreditation development that combines internationalization with Chinese characteristics. The scale of accreditation implementation ranks first among international peers, with completeness of accreditation systems, innovation in accreditation supervision mechanisms, international mutual recognition cooperation, and control of accreditation service time all ranking among the international forefront.

Innovation in accreditation supervision mechanisms leads internationally. Internationalization is an important feature of accreditation work, reflected in the adoption of corresponding international standards for accreditation criteria and operation mechanisms that meet international requirements. Based on the internationally unified accreditation supervision system, CNAS explores and implements a Chinese-style accreditation work mechanism according to China's actual conditions, forming an accreditation supervision system combining internationalization and localization. This includes risk-based management, comprehensive routine supervision assessments, surprise special supervision combining problem-oriented and random inspections, confirmation audits of certified organizations, major incident investigations, complaint investigations, etc., making China's accreditation supervision mechanism innovation lead internationally.

Recognition constraints and administrative supervision co-governance linkage. According to the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation," China has established a five-in-one certification and accreditation supervision system consisting of "legal norms, administrative supervision, recognition constraints, industry self-discipline, and social supervision," continuously enhancing the effectiveness and credibility of certification and accreditation. Recognition work continuously strengthens close ties with administrative supervision-related tasks, providing technical support for administrative supervision; by participating in administrative supervision, it expands and enriches the means of recognition supervision.

Improve recognition efficiency and enhance recognition effectiveness. Since 2014, CNAS has implemented the spirit of "delegating power, streamlining administration, and optimizing services," deepened reforms, innovated development, focused on improving service efficiency, and enhancing recognition effectiveness to better serve the market and supervision. After reforms, the efficiency of recognition services has significantly improved, and the time control targets for laboratory and inspection institution recognition, benchmarked against international leading levels, have been generally achieved.

Legal basis and government acceptance of China Accreditation

The important work basis is the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation." The "Regulations" clarify the functions and positioning of the national accreditation body, laying a legal foundation for the development of China's accreditation cause. Subsequently, laws and regulations such as the "Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Judicial Appraisal Management Issues," "Regulations on Biosafety Management of Pathogenic Microorganism Laboratories," and "Measures for the Administration of Mandatory Product Certification Bodies, Inspection Bodies, and Laboratories" were successively issued. Government regulatory departments accept accreditation results in various forms at different stages.

With China's economic development entering the quality era, the Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to quality work and have introduced relevant policies. Certification and accreditation work faces good opportunities and its status is increasingly elevated. Certification and accreditation have been included in the national five-year plan outline, medium and long-term policy documents such as "Made in China 2025," and have been repeatedly included in government work reports. On September 5, 2017, the Party Central Committee and the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Carrying out Quality Improvement Actions," proposing to improve the national conformity assessment system, improve the capability accreditation system, and consolidate the national quality infrastructure. On January 25, 2018, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of the Quality Certification System and Promoting Comprehensive Quality Management," taking certification, accreditation, inspection, and testing as important measures to promote supply-side structural reform and the "delegating power, streamlining administration, and optimizing services" reform.

Scientific and technological development of China Accreditation

Technicality is an important characteristic of accreditation work. As a highly technical specialized institution, since its establishment, the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment has persistently focused on scientific and technological work, achieving remarkable results in project quantity, scientific research level, and application of achievements. Since 2002, the accreditation center has produced a batch of scientific and technological achievements, undertaking a total of 15 national science and technology projects (topics), winning 14 "Science and Technology Promotion Awards for Inspection," 4 "Market Supervision Scientific Research Achievement Awards," and 6 "China Standard Innovation Contribution Awards." Among them, the "Biosafety Technology and Application of P3 and P4 Laboratories" project led by the accreditation center won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2012.

Looking back at history, we realize that we must cherish the hard-won situation of the accreditation cause, be good at summarizing experience, grasp the rules, and adhere to the "Seven Consensus" formed in the development path of China Accreditation:

1. Putting people at the center is the fundamental stance of the development of the accreditation cause;

2. A centralized and unified national accreditation system is an important cornerstone for the development of the accreditation cause;

3. Conveying trust and serving development are basic requirements of accreditation work;

4. Implementing an internationalization strategy and promoting mutual recognition internationally are basic goals of accreditation work;

5. Following the path of combining internationalization and localization in China Accreditation development is the correct choice for accreditation work;

6. Continuously improving the effectiveness and credibility of accreditation is a long-term task for the sustainable development of accreditation work;

7. Comprehensively strengthening self-capacity building is the fundamental guarantee for promoting the healthy development of the accreditation cause.