On 9 April, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the State Administration of Taxation (SAT), the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), and the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) jointly released the “Implementation Plan for Promoting Equipment Renewal in the Industrial Sector.” This plan aims to support the State Council’s “Action Plan for Promoting Large-scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Trade-In”, by guiding efforts to accelerate the renewal of equipment in the industrial and information technology sectors.
The document outlines detailed actions in four areas: implementing advanced equipment, digitizing existing production equipment, promoting green equipment, and improving safety standards. It emphasizes the pivotal role of standards, specifically stating the need to “develop and revise a batch of standards related to energy conservation, carbon reduction, environmental protection, safety, and recycling in key industries; implement an industrial energy conservation and green standardization action; compile a ‘Catalog for Promoting Advanced Safety Emergency Equipment’; and promote the ‘Catalog of Recommended Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Technologies and Equipment in the Industrial and Information Sector’, to guide companies in aligning with advanced standards for equipment renewal and technological transformation.”
In terms of the industrial energy conservation and green standardization action, MIIT had previously formulated the “Industrial Energy Conservation and Green Standardization Action Plan (2017-2019)” to develop and revise a series of key industrial energy conservation and green standards. This plan put particular emphasis on the implementation of these standards, on the establishment of a work platform for industrial energy conservation and green standardization, on the enhancement of training and education, and on fostering standardization support and evaluation agencies. It is expected that MIIT and other ministries will issue similar policies in the future to continue strengthening research and implementation of industrial energy conservation and green standards.
Standards will undoubtedly serve as criteria for products to be included in the “Catalog for Promoting Advanced Safety Emergency Equipment” and the “Catalog of Recommended Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Technologies and Equipment in the Industrial and Information Sector”. Standards will determine which products or technologies will receive government endorsement, providing them with greater market opportunities.
