On July 6, 2022, SAMR together with other 15 ministries and national departments issued the Action Plan of Implementing the National Standardization Development Outline (hereinafter referred to as “the Action Plan”).

The Action Plan, composed of 33 articles, specifies the key tasks to be accomplished by relevant departments and local governments by the end of 2023. It is aimed at playing the fundamental and guiding role of standardization in improving the modernization of China's system and capacity for governance.

The main content of the Action Plan is as follows:

1.         Strengthen the promotion of standardization work by overall planning. Supporting policies for putting the Outline in place will be improved, and standardization will be incorporated into policies and plans on industry, region, science & technology, trade, etc. The plan of establishing the national standards system will be implemented to facilitate the high-quality development during 2021-2025. Local governments and relevant departments can formulate specific standardization development plans to boost economic and social development.

2.         Enhance the effective interaction between standardization and technological innovation. The linkage mechanism between major science & technology projects and standardization will be established, and the rate of standards research results achieved by the projects of common key technologies and applied science & technology plans will be counted. Standards research in the key technology fields will be strengthened in the layout of national science & technology plans, and standard will serve as a key indicator in the implementation system of science & technology plans. The projects focusing on standards research are encouraged to carry out the pilot program for preliminary review of national standards proposals. The system of standard essential patents (SEPs) will be completed, and the working mechanism of standards and intellectual property will be established.

3.         Raise the standards level in equipment manufacturing industry. The standards system for industrial transformation and upgrading will be improved in areas such as integration of informatization and industrialization, and intelligent manufacturing. High-end equipment manufacturing standardization projects will be carried out in key areas such as CNC machine tools, construction machinery, marine equipment, and agricultural machinery to develop and apply standards integrating high-end equipment with information technology, green and low carbon, and modern service. Standardization pilot projects will be conducted in the fields of intelligent, green and service-oriented manufacturing, to create a typical model of promoting high-end development of equipment manufacturing by standards.

4.         Improve the standards support of modern service industry. Standards in key areas such as smart logistics, cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses will be developed to improve the modern circulation system and the multimodal transport standards system. More efforts will be put into the development of national standards for digital transformation of finance, financial risk prevention and control, and financial consumer protection, to accelerate the construction of the green finance standards system. Standards for safety production and packaging management in express delivery sector will be improved, and the pilot and demonstration management system for standardization of service industry will be further enhanced.

5.         Improve consumer product standards continuously. The plan of improving consumer product standards will be formulated and implemented to expand domestic demands via standards. The development and revision of consumer product safety standards will be strengthened, and more standards for products of children and seniors will be developed. The food quality standards system will be completed. The development of consumer product quality grading standards will be promoted, and the research on consumer experience standards will be strengthened to accelerate the transformation from production-oriented consumer product standards to consumption-oriented ones.

6.         Strengthen the supporting role of standards in emerging industries. The standardization project in new industries will be carried out. According to the development trends and characteristics of industries, the plans for standards system in specific fields will be formulated to promote the development of key standards. National standards that lead the benign interaction and deep integration of the new-generation information technology and various industries will be developed. The standards system of industries regarding new materials will be continuously improved. Standards development in the field of biotechnology application will be strengthened. The development of standards for artificial intelligence medical devices, new biomedical materials, and new molecular diagnostic technologies will be accelerated to optimize the standards system for high-end and innovative medical devices. The development of digital technology standards will be strengthened to promote digital industrialization and industrial digitization. Standards on data security and data transaction will be developed to facilitate the development of the data element market.

7.         Promote the effective connection of standards between the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. Standardization projects will be implemented to stabilize key industrial chains, and the standardization coordination of cross-industry and cross-domain industrial chains will be strengthened in key industries such as machinery, electronics and textiles. Standards development and application will be strengthened in key fields and products, as well as key links such as design, materials, technology, testing and application.

8.         Carry out a special standardization campaign on new infrastructure. More standards will be developed for the planning, design, construction, operation, and upgrading of new infrastructure such as industrial internet, internet of vehicles, energy internet and spatiotemporal information. Innovative infrastructure standards will be actively developed. Cities with a solid development foundation and prominent leading role will be selected to cultivate and apply new infrastructure standards. High-tech standardization pilot programs will be implemented to promote the development and application of integrated infrastructure standards.

9.         Implement the standardization improvement project on carbon peak and neutrality. The implementation plan for establishing and improving carbon peak and neutrality standards measurement system will be issued. The overall coordination role of standardization will be strengthened in various fields by the establishment of the national standardization group on carbon peak and neutrality. The basic general standards for carbon peak will be improved, and mandatory national standards for energy consumption quotas in key industries and the energy efficiency of key energy-using products will be upgraded together with supporting standards for energy accounting, testing and certification, evaluation, and auditing. Verification standards for carbon emission accounting reports will be developed for regions and key industries, enterprises and products. Greenhouse gas emission standards for key industries and products will be developed. Standards   on new power system will be developed, focusing on the clean and efficient use of wind power, photovoltaics, power transmission and distribution, energy storage, hydrogen energy, nuclear power and fossil energy. Research will be conducted to develop standards for ecological carbon sinks, carbon capture, utilization and storage. The standardization pilot project of carbon peak and neutrality will be carried out. The construction and evaluation standards for green public institutions will be developed in different categories.

10.         Improve the standards system for ecosystem protection and restoration. Standards for ecological environment quality and risk management and control will be improved, and standards for ecological system environmental observation, environmental protection, and pollutant discharge will be developed and revised. The standards development in the fields of overall observation, protection and systematic restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, deserts and glaciers will be strengthened, and the standards system for meteorological guarantee services for ecological civilization, and the ecological protection and restoration of land and space will be established. Standards will be developed in areas such as biodiversity conservation and management, biosecurity assessment, ecological status monitoring and assessment, ecosystem stability assessment, ecological risk assessment and early warning, and ecosystem services. Green product standards will be improved, and the standards system for national parks, nature reserves, and ecological protection red lines will be constructed.

11.         Improve the standards level of economical and intensive utilization of natural resources. Unified technical standards for territorial and spatial planning and survey, registration, evaluation and monitoring of natural resource will be developed. More efforts are put into the development and revision of standards for the economical and intensive use of land resources and the management and classification of cultivated land resources. The standards development in the field of economical, intensive use and protection of water resources will be strengthened. Standards on mineral resource economical and intensive technologies, green exploration and green mining will be developed. Standards in the fields of seawater desalination and ocean energy utilization will be developed and revised.