"Annual Report on the Development of Standardization in China (2023)" Released

      On the morning of March 27, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration) held a special press conference to release the "Annual Report on China's Standardization Development (2023)" and introduced relevant information. The following is the full text of the press conference:

Tang Jiping, Second-level Inspector of the News and Publicity Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation:

Ladies and gentlemen, journalists, good morning! Welcome to the special press conference of the State Administration for Market Regulation to jointly witness the release of the "Annual Report on China's Standardization Development (2023)". In 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration) thoroughly implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on standardization work, achieving remarkable results. To provide an in-depth interpretation of the "Annual Report," today we have invited Mr. Xiao Han, Director of the Standard Innovation Department, Mr. Guo Huanxin, First-level Inspector of the Standard Technology Department, Ms. Li Yubing, Deputy Director of the Standard Innovation Department, Mr. Guo Chenguang, and Ms. Liu Chengyang to attend the press conference to introduce relevant information and answer questions of interest.

First, please allow Director Xiao Han to introduce the relevant information.

Xiao Han, Director of the Standard Innovation Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! Welcome to today's press conference, and thank you to all colleagues and friends in the media for your long-term concern and support for China's standardization work!

Standards are the technical support for economic activities and social development. The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to standardization work. General Secretary Xi Jinping has made important instructions many times, providing fundamental guidance for standardization work. The Central Economic Work Conference held last December and this year's government work report both require strengthening quality support and standard leadership. The State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration), together with localities and departments, fully implements General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, focusing on implementation. In 2023, standardization work achieved remarkable results.

First, in terms of national standards. In 2023, the National Standardization Administration approved and released 2,902 national standards and 225 national standard samples. By the end of 2023, there were a total of 44,499 national standards and 4,164 national standard samples.

Second, in terms of industry standards. In 2023, 4,141 industry standards were filed. By the end of 2023, 75 categories of industry standards were approved, with a total of 80,828 industry standards filed.

Third, in terms of local standards. In 2023, 10,751 local standards were filed. By the end of 2023, a total of 69,709 local standards were filed.

Fourth, in terms of group standards. In 2023, social organizations published 23,162 group standards on the National Group Standards Information Platform. By the end of 2023, social organizations had cumulatively published 74,240 group standards on the platform.

Fifth, in terms of enterprise standards. In 2023, enterprises self-declared and publicly disclosed 546,160 standards through the Enterprise Standards Information Public Service Platform, covering 932,124 products. By the end of 2023, 472,459 enterprises had self-declared and publicly disclosed 3,165,625 standards through the platform, covering 5,271,353 products.

Sixth, in terms of standardization technical organizations. In 2023, 23 new national professional standardization technical committees were established. By the end of 2023, there were a total of 1,338 national professional standardization technical committees, including 550 technical committees (TC), 766 sub-technical committees (SC), and 22 standardization working groups (SWG).

Seventh, in terms of standardization pilot demonstrations. In 2023, 310 national-level standardization pilot demonstration projects were carried out across the country. By the end of 2023, a total of 8,038 national-level standardization pilot demonstration projects had been carried out nationwide.

Eighth, in terms of benchmarking and compliance special projects. In 2023, 7,055 new enterprises participated in benchmarking and compliance special projects, 169 new benchmarking plans were released, and 12,844 new benchmarking results were published. By the end of 2023, 58,559 enterprises in 238 cities across 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) participated in benchmarking and compliance special projects, releasing 4,120 benchmarking plans and more than 126,000 benchmarking results.

Ninth, in terms of standard implementation. In 2023, the first national standard implementation data statistical survey was conducted. Through comprehensive analysis of six indicators including standard viewing volume, download volume, sales volume, citation volume, enterprise implementation volume, and testing application volume, it was concluded that China has 5,784 "strong implementation" national standards, accounting for 13.1% of the total; 35,583 "medium implementation" national standards, accounting for 80.6%; and 2,772 "weak implementation" national standards, accounting for 6.3%. "Strong implementation" and "medium implementation" standards are considered effectively implemented, with an effective implementation rate of 93.7% for national standards.

Tenth, in terms of standard internationalization. In 2023, China undertook 9 new chair and vice-chair positions in technical bodies of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), took on 7 new secretariat roles in international standard organizations, and added 1,311 new registered experts in international standard organizations. China submitted 244 proposals for ISO and IEC international standards; approved and released 398 foreign language versions of national standards; notified the WTO of 84 mandatory national standards; and newly established 8 domestic technical counterpart units for international standard organizations (ISO and IEC).

I have briefly introduced these contents. Next, I am very willing to answer your questions together with my colleagues. Thank you all!

Tang Jiping, Second-level Inspector of the News and Publicity Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation:

Thank you, Director Xiao Han. Now we will enter the Q&A session. Please state your news organization before asking questions.

Reporter from China Central Radio and Television Station:

Standards determine quality; only high standards can ensure high quality. To promote product quality improvement and high-quality industrial development, what measures and achievements did we have last year?

Guo Huanxin, First-level Inspector of the Standard Technology Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation:

Standards, as an important fundamental system, are a key technical force supporting product quality improvement and promoting high-quality industrial development. In 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration) strengthened the construction of a standard system supporting high-quality development and made significant progress in multiple areas.

First, efforts to support high-quality industrial development became more focused. Centered on agricultural modernization and rural revitalization priorities, 169 new national standards related to agriculture and rural areas were released. Focused on the construction of a modern industrial system, 126 industrial basic standards, 41 high-end equipment manufacturing standards, and 50 aerospace standards were released, along with 38 standards for industries such as additive manufacturing and hydrogen energy. In key areas such as e-commerce and data security, 308 new national standards for the service industry were added.

Second, the standardization of public services is more grounded. Twelve national standards for ice and snow sports, such as the "Public Racing Skating Sports Level Evaluation Specification," support the vigorous development of mass sports activities. Thirty-nine special plans for elderly-friendly renovation standards were issued, and seven standards related to elderly care services were developed to protect the interests of special groups. Fifty health-related standards, including methods for testing drinking water and traditional Chinese medicine clinical standards, were formulated to safeguard public health.

Third, the standardization of social governance is more precise. Promoted pilot construction of 157 comprehensive social management and public service standards in fields such as judicial administration, health, and medical security. Formulated 129 safety production standards including the "Guidelines for the Preparation of Emergency Plans for Electrochemical Energy Storage Power Stations," and issued 8 transportation safety standards such as those for marine lifesaving equipment and civil unmanned aerial vehicles, effectively supporting the prevention and resolution of major safety risks and hazards.

Fourth, the standardization of green development is more efficient. Eleven departments jointly issued the "Guidelines for the Construction of the Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Standard System," establishing a blueprint for the "dual carbon" standard system to serve the national "dual carbon" goals. Released national standards such as the "General Rules for Food Waste Management in the Catering Industry" and "Requirements for Limiting Excessive Packaging of Fresh Edible Agricultural Products." Issued a mandatory national standard plan for "Requirements for Limiting Excessive Packaging of Express Deliveries" and accelerated the revision of standards limiting excessive packaging of tea. More than 40 food and catering industry-related social organizations, including the China Circular Economy Association and the China Cereals and Oils Association, announced over 60 group standards for saving grain and reducing waste, such as the "Leader" standard evaluation requirements and equipment for the treatment and utilization of catering kitchen waste.

Fifth, the implementation level of standards in the consumer goods sector steadily improved. Formulated 241 national standards in key consumer goods sectors such as infant and child products, household appliances, and cosmetics, strengthening the quality and safety of consumer goods. The number of products adopting globally unified labeling standards increased by 19.2% year-on-year to 19.64 million, cumulatively covering more than 190 million consumer goods, effectively promoting the smooth circulation of consumer goods in China.

China News Service reporter:

Standards are the universal language of the world, and institutional openness of standards is an important deployment by the Party Central Committee and the State Council. How does the National Standardization Administration implement the Party Central Committee and State Council's deployment to promote the internationalization of standards?

Deputy Director Li Yubing of the Standards Innovation Department, State Administration for Market Regulation:

The State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration) conscientiously implements the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, studies and formulates guiding opinions on steadily expanding institutional openness of standards, fully plays the role of permanent member in international standard organizations, actively promotes the construction and improvement of the international standard system, consolidates and strengthens mutually beneficial cooperative partnerships, pragmatically promotes standard connectivity and joint construction of the "Belt and Road," strengthens trade facilitation standard support, and continuously advances institutional openness of standards.

First, the consistency level between Chinese and foreign standards continues to improve, with an overall international standard conversion rate of 82%. This year, 999 international standards were converted. The consistency degree of major consumer goods such as household appliances and textiles with international standards reached 96%. The conversion rates of international standards in equipment manufacturing fields such as engineering machinery, chemical industry, ferroalloys, and new generation information technology fields such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence have exceeded 90%. Organized nationwide data comparison between professional standardization technical committees and domestic technical counterparts of international standard organizations, clarifying that 380 international standard organization technical bodies correspond to Chinese standardization technical committees, with a correspondence degree of about 90%.

Second, the capacity to participate in international standardization activities continues to improve, proposing 244 international standard proposals in fields such as molecular biology. Undertook 7 secretariat and 9 chair and vice-chair positions in international standard organizations newly responsible for mechanical energy storage, innovative logistics, and others, with 1,311 newly registered experts. The participation rate in international standard formulation reached 82.2%. Issued plans for 480 recommended national standards foreign language versions in areas such as international trade, foreign contracted projects, international scientific and technological cooperation and exchange, and "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality," and released 398 national standards foreign language versions.

Third, the level of international cooperation in standardization continues to improve, with 5 new international cooperation documents signed. This year, the National Standardization Administration successively signed standardization cooperation agreements with national and regional standardization organizations such as Kazakhstan and the African Electrotechnical Standardization Committee, and signed a mutual recognition agreement on standards for animal and vegetable oils with Russia. By the end of 2023, China had signed 108 bilateral and multilateral standardization cooperation documents with standardization organizations from 65 countries and regions and international organizations, including 57 cooperation documents with 47 countries jointly building the "Belt and Road." Widely absorbed enterprise representatives, including those from foreign-invested enterprises, to participate in technical committee work. In 2023, 7,409 new registered members joined Chinese technical committees, including 400 representatives from foreign-funded enterprises, accounting for 5.4% of the total new members.

Next, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration), together with localities and departments, will thoroughly implement the "National Standardization Development Outline" and steadily expand institutional openness of standards. First, vigorously implement the standard internationalization leap project, organize research on the implementation path and measures for institutional openness of standards. Second, continuously develop the international standardization talent team, cultivate a group of registered experts in international standard organizations who understand rules, are good at coordination, professionally strong, and proficient in foreign languages, and actively participate in international standardization activities. Third, continuously improve the consistency level between domestic and international standards, while promoting the wider dissemination and sharing of Chinese standards in broader fields and scopes.

China Economic Net reporter:

Standards are important innovation resources. Strengthening the interactive development of standardization and technological innovation is a requirement of the "National Standardization Development Outline." What progress has China made in promoting innovation and development through standards?

Deputy Director Guo Chenguang of the Standards Innovation Department, State Administration for Market Regulation:

Standards are carriers of scientific and technological achievements and bridges and links for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Standardization helps promote the industrialization, marketization, and internationalization of scientific and technological innovation achievements. Since last year, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration), together with the Ministry of Science and Technology and other departments, has vigorously promoted the interactive development of standardization and technological innovation, achieving three significant results.

First, the interaction between standards and technology has been continuously enhanced. The "14th Five-Year Plan" National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) major project includes a "standard internationalization" project, supporting the development of standards in fields such as new power systems, intelligent robots, new nanomaterials, and new infrastructure for the Internet of Things through technological innovation. We have also approved the establishment of the first batch of 38 national standard verification points in fields such as rare earth materials, high-tech ships and marine engineering equipment, and core aviation components, and established a senior expert database of nearly 500 people covering macro strategy, standardization, measurement and testing, inspection and testing, scientific research and development, and industrial application. Thirty-four national technical standard innovation bases have been built, and national technical standard innovation bases in intelligent manufacturing, photovoltaics, household appliances, and other fields have cumulatively promoted the transformation of 1,924 advanced scientific and technological achievements with application potential into 2,245 technical standards.

Second, the supply of standards in key technology fields has been continuously strengthened, with the proportion of standards supplied for strategic emerging industries reaching about 40%. In key areas such as Beidou Navigation and manned spaceflight, 7 Beidou satellite navigation standards and 14 space science standards have been developed and tackled, promoting the development of more than 100 Beidou application standards. Over 200 national standards have been developed in key and emerging technology fields such as integrated circuits, clean energy, and biotechnology. A total of 4,141 new registered industry standards were added, including 1,902 standards related to strategic emerging industries, accounting for 45.9%. More than 23,000 new group standards were published, nearly 12,000 of which involved strategic emerging industries, accounting for 50.3%. Over 540,000 new enterprise self-declared public standards were added, with more than 210,000 related to strategic emerging industries, accounting for 38.5%.

Third, the leading role of advanced standards has been continuously enhanced, with nearly 1,400 new "leader" standards added. Among them, 640 "leader" standards were released in the product field, with electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing accounting for nearly 20%, general equipment manufacturing and specialized equipment manufacturing accounting for 12% and 10% respectively. In the service sector, 53 "leader" standards were released, with logistics services accounting for 14% and solid waste management services accounting for 8%. By the end of 2023, 3,631 standards from 2,003 enterprises had become "leaders," covering 893 categories of products and services.

Worker Daily reporter:

In recent years, we have noticed that local party committees and governments are paying more and more attention to standardization work. May I ask what characteristics the standardization work across the country currently has, and what measures the National Standardization Administration will take next to promote the development of local standardization?

Deputy Director Liu Chengyang of the Standards Innovation Department, State Administration for Market Regulation:

As the reporter said, with the in-depth implementation of the "National Standardization Development Outline," localities are paying more attention to standardization work. Overall, local standardization work shows three main characteristics:

First, the market standards in economically developed regions are more active, with Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu, Beijing, and Shanghai ranking in the first echelon. In terms of social organizations, Guangdong and Zhejiang have each registered more than 100 new social organizations on the national group standards information platform. Regarding group standards, the top five regions in the number of published group standards are Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Shanghai, and Beijing, respectively. In terms of enterprises' self-declared public standards, Guangdong, Shandong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu each have more than 4,000 enterprises. Looking at the number of "leader" standards in enterprise standards, Guangdong has reached 1,152 "leader" standards.

Second, the standardization capacity in central and western regions is continuously strengthening, with Hebei, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, Sichuan, and Inner Mongolia accelerating their efforts. In terms of the number of enterprises' self-declared public standards, Hebei ranks first with 14,489 enterprises. Among the provinces in the top ten nationwide for strategic emerging industry standards in the enterprise standards public service platform, half are from central and western regions: Hebei with 24,163, Henan with 23,309, Sichuan with 9,242, Anhui with 8,051, and Hubei with 7,048. Regarding the number of enterprises participating in benchmarking and compliance special projects, 65.1% of the top ten provinces are from central and western regions. For the number of benchmarking results, 62.8% of the top ten provinces are from central and western regions.

Third, regional coordination in standardization has been further strengthened, with highlights in the Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the nine provinces (regions) along the Yellow River. The Yangtze River Delta region focuses on the goals and tasks of regional integrated development planning, with three provinces and one city working together in key areas such as public transportation, health, agriculture and rural areas, and ecological environment, formulating 36 regional coordinated local standards including the "Pharmaceutical Industry Air Pollutant Emission Standard." Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei has established a "3+X" collaboration model where standardization departments and industry authorities from the three places jointly organize the formulation of regional coordinated local standards, having developed 86 such standards. The second joint meeting on ecological civilization standardization cooperation among 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt was held, releasing the "Guidelines for the Construction of the Ecological Civilization Regional Coordinated Local Standard System in the Yangtze River Economic Belt." A standardization conference on ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin was held among the nine provinces (regions) along the Yellow River, signing a framework agreement for the strategic cooperation mechanism on standardization among the nine provinces (regions). Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao signed a memorandum to promote standard development cooperation in the Greater Bay Area, jointly releasing 161 "Bay Area Standards" in food, traditional Chinese medicine, transportation, elderly care, etc., with nearly 900 enterprises from the three places declaring use of the "Bay Area Standards." Fujian deepened cross-strait standard harmonization, creating 38 pilot projects for cross-strait standard harmonization.

Next, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration) will further strengthen local standardization work, promote the construction of national standardization innovation development pilot projects, innovate regional coordinated development standardization models, and advance the construction of a unified national market, providing more effective standardization support for high-quality local development.

China National Radio Voice of China reporter:

The "National Standardization Development Outline" proposes to promote reform and innovation in standardization and consolidate the foundation for standardization development. May I ask what new progress China made last year in reform and innovation in standardization and consolidating the development foundation?

Xiao Han, Director of the Standard Innovation Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation:

Thank you to the reporter from China National Radio Voice of China for the question. The "National Standardization Development Outline" is our guiding document for standardization work. In 2023, through joint efforts from all sides, we have made many new advances in reform and innovation in standardization and consolidating the development foundation.

First, new progress has been made in institutional innovation in standardization. We actively deepened reform and innovation in standardization work, issuing the "Management Measures for the Gradient Cultivation of Standard-Innovative Enterprises (Trial)," further stimulating enterprises' innovation vitality in the interactive development of standards, technology, services, and management. We revised and issued the "Measures for Promoting Enterprise Standardization," improving the institutional system for enterprise standardization work and enhancing its effectiveness. We issued the "Interim Provisions on the Adoption of Group Standards as Recommended National Standards," opening channels for advanced and applicable group standards to be converted into national standards. We introduced the "Guidelines for Statistical Analysis of the Implementation of Mandatory National Standards," continuously improving a unified and coordinated mandatory national standards system.

Second, new progress has been made in cultivating standardization talent. For the first time, a document on standardization talent cultivation was formulated, jointly issued and implemented with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce the "Special Action Plan for Standardization Talent Cultivation (2023-2025)." Seventeen regular higher education institutions and vocational colleges have established majors in standardization engineering and standardization technology, more than 40 universities have carried out talent cultivation in standardization technology applications such as item coding and automatic identification, over 4,600 people have obtained the professional skill level certificate for standard compilation and review, and textbooks such as "Fundamentals of Standardization" have been included in the first batch of the "14th Five-Year Plan" national vocational education planning textbook catalog. Chinese experts have received 34 ISO Excellence Contribution Awards and 21 IEC 1906 Awards. The Chinese student team participated in the 18th International Standards Olympiad, winning gold, silver, and IEC special awards.

Third, new progress has been made in the capability of standardization technical support. Twenty-three standardization technical committees have been newly established in the fields of institutional governance, technical trade measures, intelligent computing, and others. Eight national technology standard innovation bases have been newly approved in non-ferrous metals, chemical new materials, medical devices, civil aviation, and other sectors. Based on the development and comprehensive verification needs of national major strategies, major projects, important industries, and emerging industries standardization, 38 national standard verification points have been approved for the first time. Together with Guangxi, the ASEAN National Standardization Exchange and Cooperation Center has been co-established, leveraging the roles of standardization research centers in the Americas, Europe, and Northeast Asia to promote international exchange and cooperation in standardization.

Fourth, new progress has been made in standardization statistical surveys. For the first time, a statistical survey on the implementation data of national standards was conducted, collecting more than 830,000 data entries on national standard implementation, with nearly 81.5 million implementation frequencies counted, involving more than 44,000 currently effective national standards. The survey shows that the effective implementation rate of national standards reached 93.7%. An implementation status statistical analysis information platform has been established, and 13 relevant departments of the State Council have conducted statistical analysis on the implementation of key mandatory national standards.

Tang Jiping, Second-level Inspector of the News and Publicity Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation:

Thank you to the reporters for your questions. Due to time constraints, today's Q&A session will end here. If you have other questions you would like to know about, please contact the News and Publicity Department after the meeting. Thank you again for attending this press conference. The meeting is now concluded. Thank you!