On February 19, 2024, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) issued the Key Points for National Standardization Work in 2024 (referred to as the Key Points). This is a significant document that aligns with China's National Standardization Development Outline and aims to achieve development goals by 2025. The Key Points outline six key areas with a total of 90 specific tasks. Particularly noteworthy, two of the areas emphasize the importance of opening up and international cooperation.
Below is a summary of each area as presented in the Key Points:
Expanding domestic demands and promoting standards advancement: This area includes 10 specific tasks covering various sectors such as safety, industrial advancement, digital transformation, green and sustainable development. It also focuses on standards for products targeting the elderly and those that promote consumption-related standards.
Cultivating new advantages in international competition and cooperation in standardization: This area comprises 10 tasks, which aim to enhance China's position in international competition and strengthen international cooperation.
Enhancing Supply Chain Resilience through Standardization: This aspect comprises 14 tasks that aim to build a modern industrial system and strengthen the resilience of supply chains in China. These tasks include not only the development of standards but also the establishment of corresponding standards systems. Different industries, such as information and communication technologies, rare earth industry, and additive manufacturing, are targeted for enhancing supply chain resilience.
Strengthening the Standards System and Promoting its Implementation: This area of action focuses on improving the standards system and ensuring effective implementation and application of standards to support the construction of a unified national market. Various types of standards, including national standards, sector standards, and local standards, are referenced. The tasks within this area involve managing and developing industry-specific standards to provide a unified foundation and guidance for compliance, as well as developing standards that facilitate information sharing.
Advancing International Standardization Cooperation: The objective of this area of action is to build an open economic system with a higher level of opening-up and expand the institutional opening-up of standards. The emphasis is on aligning standardization efforts with international standards and collaborating with foreign countries on standards development. This cooperation goes beyond the geographical and organizational scope of the previous area and includes actors such as the EU, northeastern Asian countries, Germany, France, the UK, the US, Russia, as well as countries in the Arab region, Asia, and Africa. Existing cooperation frameworks, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS, will be fully utilized during this process.
Enhancing the development and influence of standardization is a key focus area aimed at advancing the quality and reach of standardization efforts. This includes bolstering the infrastructure of standards, enhancing digitalization, managing Standard Development Organizations (SDOs), providing professional training, and promoting standards. This area comprises 28 tasks, representing 31% of the total tasks, dedicated to achieving these objectives.
In essence, the Key Points comprehensively cover various facets of standardization with a clear message: to maximize the impact of standardization in driving China's economic growth. Furthermore, there is a strong emphasis on actively engaging in international standardization activities and collaborating with foreign entities on standards development.
If you want to get the English version, please contact info@bestao-consulting.com