Industry Roundtable „Reform of the Chinese Conformity Assessment System and Implications for German Industry”

On 15 May 2015, a half-day roundtable dealing with the Chinese reform of the conformity assessment system and resulting implications for German industry took place in Beijing. Along with the lively discussion on the ongoing reform, the industry representatives also exchanged opinions on further Sino-German cooperation possibilities in the field of conformity assessment.

The roundtable was opened by Mr. Johannes Braun, GIZ-Project Director of the Sino-German Quality Infrastructure Project, and Dr. Norbert Schultes, head of the Accreditation, Metrology and Technical Supervision PTB and BAM Division of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology (BMWi).

The first part of the meeting dealt with political aspects. Differences between the existing conformity systems in China and Europe, key points of the Chinese reforms of the conformity assessment system and CCC-Certification and the opening of certification markets for foreign laboratories were explained. Afterwards, Jan Hoehne, head of certification of TÜV Rheinland in China, gave account on how his company evaluates the ongoing reforms, given the challenges and hurdles for certification bodies in China.

The second part of the roundtable was about current and future projects. Accounts on the results of the project line on phthalates in toy products and the conference on ”Industrie 4.0” were given. Again, the participants discussed in a very lively way. Many valuable comments and suggestions were made about the industries´ needs and how Sino-German cooperation in the field of conformity assessment can be further developed and deepened.