In 2023, China’s magazine Chinese Standardization published a summary of the ten major standardization news of 2022. These include, among others, the publication of three major policy documents and one departmental rule. The following is a brief review of those events.

  1. Action Plan for Implementing the National Standardization Development Outline

On 6th July 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), and 14 other national authorities, released the Action Plan for Implementing the National Standardization Development Outline. The Action Plan specifies the key tasks and corresponding responsible bodies for guiding standardization development through the end of 2023.

  1. Opinions on Promoting the Sound Development of Association Standards

On 23 February 2022, after the approval of the Inter-ministerial Joint Conference System of the State Council for Coordinating and Promoting Standardization, SAC and 16 other ministries and national associations jointly issued the Opinions on Promoting the Sound Development of Association Standards. The objective of the Opinions is to contribute to the implementation of the National Standardization Development Outline, regulate association standardization, and thus promote high-quality development.

  1. Revised Administrative Measures for National Standards

On 22 September 2022, SAMR released the revised Administrative Measures for National Standards. The Measures will come into effect on 1 March 2023 and replace the previous version, which dates back to 1990.

The revision mainly includes the following four aspects: i) Further promote the development of the national standards system and adjust the scope of national standards based on the newly revised Standardization Law, as well as feedback from practical implementation; ii) Clarify the procedures and relevant work requirements for the formulation and management of national standards; iii) Specify new requirements for the revision, management, implementation and supervision of national standards, in order to meet the increasing demand for formulation and internationalization of standards; iv) Further improve the feedback mechanism and standards-updating mechanism, to facilitate the implementation of national standards.

  1. World Standards Day

On 14 October 2022, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) celebrated the World Standards Day. The 2022 annual edition was themed as “shared vision for a better world”. To show the foundational role of standardization in the digital era and promote the digitization of standards, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) carried out relevant promotional activities, set the Chinese theme of this year’s World Standards Day as “Standardization in the Digital Era” and posted the toast correspondingly.

  1. Implementation Plan for Establishing and Improving the Measurement System for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Standards

On 18 October 2022, the Implementation Plan for Establishing and Improving the Measurement System for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Standards was released by nine government departments. As one of the schemes to better carry out ‘1+N policies’ for peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, the implementation Plan outlines the overall deployment and provides guidance to relevant industries, sectors, local governments and enterprises on how to construct the measurement system for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality standards.

  1. China Won the Platinum Medal of the 17th International Standards Olympiad

From 23 August to 25 August 2022, the 17th International Standards Olympiad was held online. China’s high school representatives won the platinum award, ISO Special Award, Gold Award, and Bronze Award. These mark China’s “best-in-history” outcome.

  1. China’s Participation in World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly

From 1 to 9 March 2022, the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-20) took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting was attended by nearly one thousand representatives. The Chinese delegation proactively participated in international communication and proposal discussion. A total of 13 experts from Chinese industries were elected to hold the chairmanship or vice-chairmanship of ITU-T’s study groups. Together with experts from other countries, they promoted the revision of resolutions such as Resolution 92 – (Rev. Geneva, 2022) – Enhancing the standardization activities in the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector related to non-radio aspects of international mobile telecommunications. Their efforts will contribute to technical standards cooperation in global telecommunication industry.

  1. Research Project on the Standardization Development of Low-carbon Transition

On 1 March 2022, the Research Project on the Standardization Development of Low-carbon Transition was officially initiated by the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The research outcome will be taken as policy advice and suggestions for implementing the “Standardization for Green Development”, i.e. a key task outlined in the National Standardization Development Outline.

  1. Research Project onTechnical Regulations Based on Rule of Law, National and Global Governance (21&ZD192)

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.

  1. International Standardization (Chilin) Forum 2022

On 20 August 2022, the International Standardization (Chilin) Forum 2022 was held in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Mr. Tian Shihong, the administrator of the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) made an opening speech. At the opening ceremony of the forum, China announced the establishment of the IEC Promotion Center (Nanjing).