Report on China’s Participation in ISO and IEC

Participation in ISO

China joined the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1978. China, represented by SAC, has been one of the 20 members of the ISO Council since 2008. China is also a member of the ISO Technical Management Board (TMB, until 2023). From 2015 to 2018, Zhang Xiaogang, a Chinese national, served as ISO chairman.

1. Participation in ISO TC and SC

As of 1 November 2021, China was a participating member of 732 ISO TCs and SCs, and an observer member of 13 additional committees. This represents the largest country participation, followed by the UK (714), Germany (703), Japan (646) and France (633). See Figure 1 for more details.

Figure 1 TOP 20 countries participating in ISO TC and SC numbers

2. Participation in ISO Secretariat

Participation in TC and SC only does not necessarily transform into influence. When countries assess their influences and weight in ISO, they often consider the number of secretariats undertaken. Taking on a secretariat position reflects the ability of members to participate and allocate standardized resources.

In this regard, China ranks 6^th, holding 68 secretariats accounting for about 9% of all positions; it follows Germany (132 secretariats), the United States (98), Japan (81), France (79) and the United Kingdom (77) (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Ranking of countries with ISO Secretariat positions

The number of secretariat positions held by China increased substantially over the past two decades, from 6 in 2000, to 79 in 2019; however, it decreased to 66 in 2020 before increasing again to 68 in 2021. Japan and South Korea also significantly increased their ISO secretariat positions, respectively from 35 in 2000 to 81 in 2021; and from 0 in 2000 to 20 in 2021.

On the other hand, the number of secretariats held by France, Germany and Canada has remained relatively stable. The same applies to the United Kingdom, although there have been more fluctuations over the years. While for the United States, there has been a clear downward trend, from 139 in 2020, to 98 in 2021. See Figure 3 for more details.

Figure 3 Changes in the number of ISO Secretariat positions held by selected countries between 2000 and 2021

3. Participation in digitalization-related ISO TCs and SCs

After analysis, ISO has 100 TCs and SCs related to digitalization, covering cloud computing, artificial intelligence, intelligent transportation systems, health informatics, nanotechnology and additive manufacturing. There are also ISO TCs and SCs whose work is not focused on digital technologies, but on other issues related to digitalization (e.g. financial services security, digital photography, medical software).

China is a member of all 100 committees. However, it only serves as the secretariat for 7 of them, while the US (24%), Germany (16%) and Japan (14%) lead the way. See Figure 4 for more details. It is also noteworthy that, although China participated in all 22 SCs, it did not assume the secretariat in ISO/IECJTC1.

Figure 4 Country participation in the 100 digitalization-related ISO TCs and SCs

Participation in IEC

China joined the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1957, and is a member of the IEC committee board. Three of the 11 members of the IEC Market Strategy Committee are from China; one of the 15 members of the IEC Conformity Assessment Committee represents China; one of the 15 members of the IEC Standardization Management Committee represents China. Shu Yinbiao, a Chinese national, is currently the chairman of IEC (2020-2022) following previous terms as chairman-designate in 2019 and vice-chairman from 2013 to 2018.

1. Participation in IEC TCs and SCs

As of 1 November 2021, China was a participating member of 188 IEC TCs and SCs (94% of all TCs and SCs). This is similar to the participation of Germany (189) and Japan (186), as illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Top 20 countries participating in IEC TC and SC numbers

2. Participation in IEC secretariats

China serves as the secretariat of 11 IEC TCs and SCs, accounting for 6% of all positions and ranking 7^th after Germany (36), the United States (27), Japan (23), France (22), the UK (19) and Italy (14). See Figure 6 for more details

In terms of the number of IEC TC and SC chair positions, China also ranks 7^th (5%), after Germany (57), the United States (28), France (22), Japan (19), Italy (14) and the UK (13).