Policy Interpretation of the "Industry Standard Management Measures"

　　On November 28, 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued Order No. 86, releasing the "Measures for the Administration of Industry Standards" (referred to as the "Measures"), which will take effect on June 1, 2024. The relevant situation is explained as follows.

　　Q: What is the purpose of issuing the "Measures for the Administration of Industry Standards"?

　　The main purposes of issuing the "Measures" are as follows:

　　First, to implement the requirements for reform and innovation in standardization. The State Council's "Plan for Deepening the Reform of Standardization Work" proposes establishing a new standard system led by the government in standard formulation and coordinated with market-driven standards, promoting government-led standards including industry standards to transition to public welfare standards within government responsibilities, and gradually reducing the number and scale of existing standards. The "Standardization Law" establishes the recommended nature of industry standards, clarifies the relationship between industry standards and recommended national standards, and adds a post-implementation evaluation system. The "National Standardization Development Outline" proposes optimizing the dual structure of government-issued standards and market-driven standards, advancing the reform of recommended standards including industry standards. Implementing these new requirements necessitates revising the original measures.

　　Second, to address the problems and challenges faced by industry standards. Currently, there are many issues in industry standard management, such as lack of coordination between industry standards and national standards or among industry standards themselves, industry standards being formulated beyond their scope, and failure to file industry standards on time. Solving these problems requires revising the original measures.

　　Third, to meet the needs of industry departments in formulating and managing industry standards. Since 2018, the central government has deepened national institutional reform and optimized functions, resulting in adjustments to departmental responsibilities and the scope of industry standards. To further clarify the scope and management requirements of industry standards, the original measures need to be revised.

　　Q: What are the main contents of the revision of the "Measures for the Administration of Industry Standards"?

　　The revision of the "Measures" mainly includes the following five aspects, which are also the main changes compared to the original measures:

　　First, optimize the structure of standard supply, strengthen the coordination of recommended standards, and further clarify the public welfare nature and formulation scope of industry standards based on the "Standardization Law" implemented in 2018 and industry standard management practices.

　　Second, adhere to "unified management and division of responsibilities," further clarifying the management responsibilities of the State Council's standardization administrative department and relevant administrative departments for industry standards. The "Measures" stipulate that the State Council's standardization administrative department shall uniformly guide, coordinate, and supervise the formulation and related management of industry standards. A national standard information public service platform is established to support industry standard filing, information disclosure, and other work. Relevant administrative departments under the State Council uniformly manage industry standards within their responsibilities, responsible for formulation, implementation, review, supervision, and other management tasks.

　　Third, regulate the formulation and management of industry standards, further clarifying the procedures and work requirements at each stage of industry standard formulation, including requirements on social concerns such as patents involved in industry standards, adoption of international and foreign advanced standards, and lawful participation of foreign-invested enterprises in standard formulation and revision.

　　Fourth, promote the effective implementation of industry standards, further clarifying the requirements for review and feedback evaluation of industry standard implementation.

　　Fifth, strengthen the supervision during and after the formulation of industry standards, establish mechanisms for supervision sampling, self-supervision, and social supervision, and clarify measures for handling various violations to ensure effective implementation of all provisions of the "Measures."

　　Q: The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party pointed out the need to "steadily expand institutional openness in rules, regulations, management, standards, etc." How does the newly revised "Measures for the Administration of Industry Standards" implement the strategic deployment of "steadily expanding openness in standard systems"?

　　Steadily expanding openness in standard systems requires continuously deepening reform and innovation in standardization and strengthening international cooperation in standardization. The "Measures" reflect this in two aspects:

　　On one hand, it clarifies the copyright requirements for industry standards adopting international standards or drafting industry standards based on foreign standards, and adds filing requirements for foreign language versions of industry standards. This provides an institutional basis for converting industry standards to international standards, learning from advanced foreign standards, and improving the openness level of industry standards. It is a specific measure to promote the dual-direction openness of standards, balancing "bringing in" and "going out."

　　On the other hand, it guarantees that foreign-invested enterprises lawfully and equally participate in China's industry standardization work, improves the openness and transparency of industry standardization work, and creates an open, fair, and just standardization environment for both domestic and foreign-funded enterprises. This is a concrete manifestation of forming a mutually reinforcing domestic and international standardization work pattern.

　　Q: What provisions does the "Measures for the Administration of Industry Standards" have regarding regulating industry standard management and promoting the construction of a unified national market?

　　Accelerating the construction of an efficient, standardized, fair, competitive, and fully open unified national market is a major strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee from a strategic and overall perspective and is an important political task we shoulder. To accelerate the establishment of unified market system rules nationwide, promote the smooth flow of goods, factors, and resources on a larger scale, and promote the construction of a unified national market, Article 6 of the "Measures" makes detailed provisions: it prohibits stipulating qualifications, licensing certification, approval registration, evaluation standards, regulatory subjects and responsibilities, and other matters in industry standards. It also prohibits using industry standards to implement behaviors that hinder the free flow of goods and services or exclude and restrict market competition.

　　Q: Article 3 of the "Measures for the Administration of Industry Standards" stipulates that "technical requirements for general products and services" should not be formulated as industry standards. How should "general" be understood?

　　"General products and services" were proposed in the State Council's "Plan for Deepening the Reform of Standardization Work" as one of the main problems in government-led standard formulation. Standards for general products and services should be formulated by business entities following market rules and should not fall within the scope of industry standard formulation. "General" and "important" are relative concepts; important products and services are those necessary to ensure basic living needs and the safe and stable development of social production. Others can be regarded as general products and services. Meanwhile, with changes in the social environment, the scope of "general products and services" will also be adjusted accordingly. Relevant departments can determine the scope of industry standard formulation based on their actual needs and industry development status.

　　Q: How can industry standards be quickly and conveniently accessed?

　　After industry standards are issued, they are filed with the State Council's standardization administrative department through the national standard information public service platform and other means. Relevant administrative departments under the State Council promote the public disclosure of industry standards according to law. It is encouraged to publicly disclose industry standard texts through the national standard information public service platform for public consultation.