The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will host a one-day conference with a high-level delegation from the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) at the FHI 360 Conference Center in Washington D.C. on April 25, 2016. The event, entitled "Sino-U.S. Cooperation and the Internationalization of Standardization: Policy Updates and Opportunities," will feature SAC presentations on two important topics: the reform of China's standardization system; and the importance of standards for both domestic and international markets.
The event is free, with advance registration required.
The SAC delegation visit comes on the heels of the issuing of several updates pertaining to the ongoing standardization reform effort in China. Notably, the draft China Standardization Law was released on March 22 for public comments by the Legislative Office of China's State Council [see the announcement]. ANSI has prepared a reference translation as a courtesy to ANSI members; the English translation is available in the Member Library. The deadline for public comment is April 21, 2016.
ANSI is planning to submit comments on the standardization law. The Institute will use the United States Standards Strategy, the ANSI Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards and accreditation of U.S.-based standards developing organizations as the basis for its feedback and encourages members to submit their comments to ANSI for consideration. ANSI also encourages members to submit comments through their own organizations, or to send comments and feedback to ANSI for information, rather than inclusion in its submission. The deadline for submitting comments to ANSI is April 8, 2016. The final version of ANSI's comments will be circulated following submission.
In addition, a second document was released by SAC on February 29 on "Guiding Opinions for Fostering and Developing Association Standards." The announcement provides detailed principles and guidelines for authorities to follow in the implementation and promotion of standardization in China, in particular in regard to social organization standards. ANSI has also prepared a reference translation of this notice as a courtesy to ANSI members; the English translation is available in the Member Library.
ANSI encourages all interested stakeholders to save the date for the important Sino-U.S. event on April 25 and check the ANSI event page for the agenda and additional information.