On June 20, 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the Announcement on Key Areas for Selecting Enterprise Standards "Top-runner" in 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the Announcement), which represents the official kick-off of the new round of top runner selection and appraisal. The Announcement attached a list of key areas: a total of 146 specific fields are identified, classified into 57 major sectors, such as agriculture, furniture manufacturing, textile industry, vehicle manufacturing, insurance, etc. The industrial development in these fields and sectors are expected to promote consumption, increase the domestic demands, and contribute to green and high-quality consumption.

Background

According to the requirements of the China Standardization Law revised in 2017, enterprises should disclose the code and name of the mandatory national standards, recommended standards, association standards or enterprise standards they implement; Where an enterprise implements its own enterprise standards, it shall also disclose the functional indicators of its products and services and the performance indicators of its products. In 2018, the SAMR, together with ministerial departments, initiated the Enterprise Standard “Top-runner” Project. Based on the disclosure system, this project will select the “Top-runner” enterprises that implement the top-level product or service standards (mainly the enterprise standards or association standards, since national standards and sector standards does not represent top-level practices in this industry). It aims to create and cultivate a group of enterprises committed to high-quality development and innovative capability through developing and implementing high-level standards. 

The selection normally starts from identification of key areas by governmental authorities which will then followed by China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS)’s work in appraisal and selection. Below is a series of activities following the Announcement of the key areas: 

I. On June 25, 2024, China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) organized a training meeting on the preparation of enterprise standard "Top-runner" appraisal scheme in 2024. This training meeting

l  introduced the background and implementation of the enterprise standard "Top-runner" system;

l  clarified the relevant requirements for the preparation of the enterprise standard "Top-runner" evaluation plan;

l  interpreted the Announcement in detail;

l  introduced the main content of the Enterprise standard “Top-runner” Work Guide (trial) (Draft for comment);

l  introduced the operation of enterprise standard "leader" management information platform;

l  Exchanged on issues of application time for appraisal schemes and corresponding basis.

II. On June 27, 2024, the CNIS announced the Calls for the Appraisal Institutes and Schemes for Enterprise Standards "Top-runner" in 2024. In the announcement, it details the scope and conditions, approach, as well as the contact information. It is part of the preparation for the selection and identification of the enterprise standards “Top-runner”. 

III. On June 28, 2024, the CNIS released the Enterprise standard “Top-runner” Work Guide (trial) (Draft for comment), which will replace the Enterprise Standard "Top-runner" Implementation Plan (Trial) released in 2018. Apart from editorial adjustment, the Work Guide specified the role of the government authorities (mainly the SAMR) in this project which is to identify the key areas and provide guidance to CNIS. 

For MNCs and foreign stakeholders, it is recommended to register as a legal entity in China to keep updated with the detailed procedures and requirements since the title of “top-runner” will assist the enterprise to gain more visibility in the market of China. 

If you have any question on the topic, or need more information, please reach us at: contact@bestao-consulting.com.