Recently, the State Council issued the Opinions on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Increasing Efforts to Attract Foreign Investment (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), with the aim to further attract and utilize foreign investment (Click here to find out SESEC’s news on the Opinions). One of the measures outlined by the Opinions is dedicated to standardization, specifically aimed at supporting foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) to participate in the formulation of standards, in an equal and law-abiding manner. To support the Opinions and FIE’s participation in China’s standardization activities, the State Administration for Market Regulation provided answers to 10 most frequently asked questions – which were translated by SESEC team to increase the understanding of foreign stakeholders. The translation of the Q&A is divided into three parts – this document consists of the second part.
- How canFIEs put forward proposals for project establishment of recommended national standards?
According to paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the Measures for the Administration of National Standards, government departments, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions and citizens may, in accordance with the relevant development plans of the State and socio-economic development needs, submit project proposals for national standards to the relevant administrative departments under the State Council, or directly to the standardization administrative department under the State Council. Furthermore, according to paragraph 2 of the same article, project proposals for recommended national standards may be submitted to national standardization technical committees.
Therefore, FIEs may use either one of these channels to propose project establishment of recommended national standards, namely: (i) submission to national standardization technical committees, or (ii) submission to the relevant administrative departments under the State Council or the standardization administrative department. Representatives of FIEs that are active members of national standardization technical committees can submit project proposals through the National Standardization Operation Management Platform, after logging in their personal accounts.
- How can FIEsparticipate in the drafting of national standards?
FIEs can apply to participate in the drafting of national standards by contacting the specific organization responsible for coordinating the drafting work. During the publicity period, relevant information on national standards projects being established or planned is available through National Public Service Platform for Standards Information; the ‘executive unit’, in the ‘basic information’ column, is the organization responsible for coordinating the drafting of the standard project.
The intellectual property rights of FIEs are protected during the formulation of national standards projects, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Where patents of FIEs are involved, they shall be handled in accordance with the Interim Provisions on the Administration of National Standards Involving Patents.
Representatives of FIEs who participate in the formulation and revision of national standards shall have certain standardization working experience, corresponding professional capacity, and proficiency in written and spoken Chinese.
- How can FIEs participate in the translation of national standardsinto foreign languages?
According to the Measures for the Administration of Foreign Language Versions of National Standards, national standardization technical committees are responsible for the establishment of projects for the formulation of foreign language versions of recommended national standards; they are also responsible for identifying the specific unit that will undertake the translation work. For mandatory national standards, the responsibility belongs to the relevant administrative departments of the State Council. Furthermore, the standardization administrative department of the State Council may also organize relevant units to carry out the translation of foreign language versions of national standards based on the needs of economic and trade development and international cooperation.
FIEs may apply to national standardization technical committees, the relevant administrative departments of the State Council or the standardization administrative department of the State Council to participate in the translation of the foreign language versions of national standards. Relevant information on translation projects being established or planned is available through National Public Service Platform for Standards Information.
