Meeting with Director General Xu Xinjian of AQSIQ on Administration of Certification Agencies and Presentation on 2017/2018 Position Paper

2017-09-25 | Beijing

Meeting with Director General Xu Xinjian of AQSIQ on Administration of Certification Agencies and Presentation on 2017/2018 Position Paper

Chamber National Chair of Quality and Safety Services Sub-working Group (QSS Sub-WG), Ms Liu Huifang, led a delegation of Chamber's members to conduct a roundtable dialogue on the administration of certification agencies in China with the representatives of the State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CNCA), led by the Director General Xu Xinjian, Department for Policy and Legislation.

Director General Xu commenced this meeting by welcoming the Chamber's delegation, followed by the brief introduction on the QSS Sub-WG made by Ms Liu. Ms Liu expressed the purpose of this dialogue and concerns regarding the administration of certification agencies in China. Provided that the Chamber submitted the collated comments on the draft of Measures for the Administration of Certification Agencies in July 2017, Ms Liu elaborated our comments on Article 22 and Article 24 and would like to get feedbacks from AQSIQ. Furthermore, Ms Liu also would like to get updates on the expansion of certification scope for foreign certification agencies in China, particularly on the sector of certification on services. In addition, Ms Liu further explained the key recommendations raised by the QSS Sub-WG in the Chamber's 2017/2018 Position Paper.

On behalf of AQSIQ, Mr Nan Jun, Division Director of the Department for Policy and Legislation of AQSIQ attended to the above concerns. As he stated, they would consider incorporating the Chamber's comments into the Measures for the Administration of Certification Agencies, particularly on the paperless record system and language requirement. As for the expansion of certification scope, it is unlikely to make tremendous progress in these areas, but free trade zones in China will provide more flexibility.

For other concerns, Mr Nan Jun handed them over to Mr Fu Qiang, Division Director of Department of Supervision on Certification Market of CNCA. Mr Fu mentioned that for the system of China Inspection Body and Laboratory Mandatory Approval (CMA), it is necessary to keep this system considering that the majority of certification agencies are domestic and in great need of compliance. CMA system will enable AQSIQ and CNCA to conduct supervision on these agencies efficiently.

Director General Xu further introduced the status quos of the certification market in China and pointed out that when drafting or revising the regulations in this sector, AQSIQ has to balance the interests of various industry communities, neither too aggressive nor too slackened. He acknowledged the advancement of European certification agencies and would like to learn more from these agencies. But it takes time to realise the reform goals for the certification market in China, particularly the reform on state-owned certification agencies. For other unresolved concerns, Director General Xu agreed to hand over them to competent departments of AQSIQ and CNCA, and will follow up with the Chamber after this dialogue.

Ms Liu further shared her insights on the development and reform of state-owned certification agencies in Germany and suggested that such practice could be of good reference for the reform in China.

This meeting concluded with Ms Liu handing over the Chamber's 2017/2018 Position Paper to Director General Xu, Division Director Nan and Division Director Fu and the wish of continuing such dialogue with AQSIQ and CNCA in the future.