BMWi Delegation Attended the International Conference on Technical Barriers to Trade in the ICT Sector in Shenzhen

On 16 January 2018, the International Conference on Technical Barriers to Trade in the ICT Sector took place in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Together with some 270 participants, a delegation of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), led by Mr Helge Engelhard, Deputy Director General (Standardisation and Safety), and Mr Boris Böhme, Division Director (Product and Plant Safety, Technical Harmonisation, Market Surveillance), attended. The conference was organised by Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau with the support of the Sino-German Quality Infrastructure Project. It served to facilitate the exchange of information on market access requirements for ICT products.

Together with Mr Zhang Jiwen, Vice Minister of the Chinese Central Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and Mr Gao Zimin, Vice Secretary General of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, DDG Engelhard and the German Consul General Martin Fleischer opened the conference. The conference was also attended by the Chinese Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA), the United States’ Consulate General Guangzhou, the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), as well as numerous Chinese and German representatives of business and associations from the ICT industry.

During the conference, CNCA introduced the China Compulsory Certification (CCC) system for ICT and information security products. BMWi introduced the European General Data Protection Regulation, its implementation in Germany and its impact on Chinese companies. The Federal Network Agency explained the German system of market surveillance for electromagnetic compatibility and radio equipment.

The Chinese Expert Group for Research on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Information System Platform for Technical Barriers to Trade were initiated within the framework of the conference.

The conference was directly followed on 17 January 2018 by a bilateral Sino-German Exchange on Technical Barriers to Trade in the ICT Sector. This exchange offered a welcome opportunity for representatives of businesses and associations from both countries to address questions to the competent authorities. Topics covered comprised accreditation & certification, standards, requirements around the European CE-marking, market surveillance, and many more.