International Standards

The central accrediting body in China is the SAC - Standardization Administration of China. The China National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) is responsible for the compulsory certification and testing, as well as for the China Compulsory Certification (CCC) system. SAC and CNCA are administratively under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ). 

Other government agencies that can approve and promulgate technical regulations are the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). 

There are four categories of standards in China: national standards, industry standards, regional standards and enterprise standards. There are some important regulatory requirements that exporters should know:

1. laws and regulations can mention voluntary standards, tthus making them mandatory;

2. some products (electrical goods, consumer appliances, fire safety equipment and auto parts) require a safety and quality certification mark – the CCCmark, which must be obtained by a manufacturer before trading with China.   

Conformity Assessment                                                  

The China National Certification and Accreditation Administration is the most important government agency responsible for supervision of the country's conformity assessment policies, including the primary safety and the CCC mark. CNCA also controls the work of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment, the body which accredits certification agencies and laboratories. 

Product Certification                                                        

The CCC mark (China Compulsory Certification) represents China's national safety and quality mark. The CCC mark is required for 20 product categories and 158 products. 

A product included in the CCC mark list cannot be exported to China until the CCC registration is obtained, and the mark is applied as an imprint or label. The same is rules refer to domestic products, which cannot be sold in China without obtaining registration and applying the mark on individual products.

To obtaining the CCC Mark the exporter should address to authorized Chinese certification bodies. The exporter has to send testing samples to a Chinese laboratory for testing, to ensure the goods meet standards. 

The CCC is the most required product certification mark, but there also exist other product certification requirements, such as requirements for boilers, 81 pressure vessels and certain measurement equipment.

The list of products which require a CCC mark can be found here:

http://www.ccc-mark.com/lists-of-products-subject-to-ccc-mark.html  

Accreditation                                                                      

The body responsible for the accreditation of certification/ inspection bodies and laboratories is the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS).

Additional detailes regarding the accreditation bodies in China can be found here:

https://www.cnas.org.cn/english/index.shtml  

Product standards

All the imported products included in the Inspection List are subject to the import commodity inspection. The importation of products such as medicines, food products, animal/plant products, and mechanical and electronic products require a safety license.  The new system of compulsory product certification was introduced on 1 May 2002. In the new system a unified catalogue, standard, mark and fee schedule are in place and the CCC mark has replaced the Great Wall CCEE and CCIB marks. 

Apart from CCC certification, some products (telecom and internet equipment; motorcycle engines, refrigerators, air conditioner compressors, televisions and other electrical household appliances) may have to meet other additional requirements. It should be mentioned that China has a complex system of controling the standards and hygienic conditions of food and agricultural products, wines and cosmetics imported into the mainland. 

Labelling requirements

Products imported and sold in China must be labelled in Chinese. Labels must contain an adequate description of product contents, grades and specifications, production date and expiration date, explanatory warnings as to potential hazard associated with the products etc.

China adopts a labeling system for the management of GM agricultural bioproducts. All GM agricultural bioproducts listed in the catalogue must be properly labelled if they are to be sold in the China market.