In December 2021, the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences initiated a research project (21&ZD192) on Technical Regulations Based on the Rule of Law, National and Global Governance. It is the first national philosophy and social sciences research project on technical regulations. Professor Liu Jingwei from the China University of Political Science and Law and member of the Standardization Administration of China serves as the chief expert of the project. Other key researchers of the project come from the China National Institute of Standardization, the University of International Business and Economics, the China Jiliang University, and several other institutions. The project is expected to be finished by December 2024.
The project mainly consists of: 1) basic theoretical research on technical regulations; 2) research on overseas technical regulations; 3) research on technical regulations and global governance; 4) research on China’s relevant practices and models. An important element of the project will be to analyze the European Union’s technical regulations (directives), with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the bloc’s regulatory framework and its implications on China.
China’s efforts in research on technical regulations are a response to the requirements set in the country’s Outline for the Development of National Standardization (hereinafter referred to as the Outline). The Outline, which was issued by the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee and the State Council in 2021, encourages standards to be proactively referred to in laws, which normally would be presented in form of technical regulations.
In July 2022, the kick-off meeting for the research proposal was convened. To mark this meeting, the magazine China Standardization published an article on its social media platform with the title of “The Launch of the First National Philosophy and Social Science Research Project on Technical Regulations”. Meanwhile, a dedicated article featuring an exclusive interview with Professor Liu Jingwei was published in the same magazine in the same year with the title “Further Promote Research on Technical Regulations, Facilitate the Application of Standards”. In 2023, the research project was listed by China Standardization as one of the ten major standardization events in 2022. According to the expert review by National Social Science Fund of China, the project is a response to the Outline, and the 14th Five-year Plan for the Modernization of Market Regulation issued by the State Council in 2021. The goal is to build a mechanism to coordinate regulations and standards, as well as support the implementation of regulations with standards via technical regulations.
