WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/237
13 November 2003
(03-6103)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
SECOND ANNUAL TRANSITIONAL REVIEW MANDATED
IN PARAGRAPH 18 OF THE PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION
OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA:
Statement by the Head of Chinese Delegation
at the meeting of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
7 November 2003
China has submitted to the TBT Committee the information required in annex 1A to
China’s protocol of accession.  Some concerns rais ed by Members, including the authorization, terms
of reference and the updated list of the conformity assessment bodies and progress on international
standards adoption are covered by the information submitted. As for transparency and thecoordination among domestic agencies involved in TBT notifications, please refer to our response to
the same question at the SPS TRM on 30 October 2003.
The following is my responses to remaining questions raised by Members in the context of
TRM.
I. ADOPTION OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
1. China recognizes the importance of adopting international standards and the international
standards have been made the basis for the development of technical regulations, standards and
conformity assessment procedures.  In order to help the industries implement TBT Agreement,
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has published
the Regulatory Measures on Adoption of International Standards , which recognizes the standards
issued by 42 international organizations as international standards.
II. CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
2. The same treatment to import and domestic products on technical regulations, standards and
conformity assessment procedures have been achieved through the implementation of China
Compulsory Products Certification System (CCC).  There are no multiple or duplicate conformity
assessment procedures.
3. The spare parts and components listed in the First Catalogue of Products subject to
Compulsory Product Certification used in whole products are exempted from the separate
certification.  If spare parts and components listed in the First Catalogue are imported or sold
separately, they will be subject to separate mandatory certification.
4. Spare parts and components directly produced or imported for the purposes of maintenance
for end users, or the maintenance for products that are off production, are exempted from the
mandatory certification.  To apply for Certificate of Exemption from CCC, the manufacturers, dealers
or their agents shall submit the relevant document s in compliance with the conditions for exemption
from CCC.  Those products can only be sold, imported and used in commercial activities after
obtaining the Certificate of Exemption from CCC.G/TBT/W/237
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5. A unified charging standard applies to both the imported and domestic products.  The
different level on the fee is mainly attrib uted to the difference in testing cost.
6. The procedures of CCC basically include the steps like application, type testing, initial factory
inspection, evaluation of certification results, the approval of certification and follow-up inspection.
Among them, factory inspection is an integral and necessary step in the whole process of CCC.
7. Regulations for Compulsory Product Certification , published in Decree No. 5 of AQSIQ,
stipulate that Certification bodies shall protect the confidentiality of business and technology of
certificated products, and shall not illegally obtain the technology achievements of the applicants.
According to the ISO/IEC guidelines, relevant documents of certification bodies should include the
rules and commitments on confidentiality.
8. In accordance with internationally accepted practices, the mutual recognition of
certification/testing results should be based on the bilateral or multilateral agreements between
governments or organizations with government authorization.  China has long been advocating the
recognition of certification/testing results on the equal basis with a view of avoiding duplicate testing
and certification and eliminating technical barriers to trade.  As China has joined the CB system ofIECEE, China recognizes the CB certificates issued by members of CB system of IECEE up to our
committed level.
9. Since 2002, the Ministry of Information Industry has been actively engaged in consultations
with the State Administration of Certification and Accreditation (CNAC) on the duplicate approval
tests of telecom equipments with a view of effective regulation of the market, reducing burdens onenterprises and eliminating duplicate tests.  So far,  the issue of duplicate tests for telecom equipments
is being solved in a progressive manner.
III. PHARMACEUTICAL REGISTRATION
10. Article 32 of the Regulations on the Administration of Pharmaceuticals  states “Medicines
must meet national standards for pharmaceuticals”.  National pharmaceutical standards includePharmacopeia of China issued by the State Food and Drug Administration (“SFDA”), pharmaceutical
registration standards and other related standards.
11. Article 36 of the  Implementing Rules for the Regulations on the Administration of
Pharmaceuticals  states “pharmaceuticals applying for importation shall have the approval for sale in
the country of production.” Pharmaceuticals applying for import registration in China must satisfy the
standards both of China and the country of origin.
12. Therefore, domestic and foreign pharmaceutical producers are treated equally in the context
of current registration regulations of China.
IV. COSMETICS
13. As for the imported cosmetics, according to the Regulations of Sanitary Supervision on
Cosmetics , Ministry of Health (MOH) assesses and approves the safety and hygiene qualities of
cosmetics, while AQSIQ approves the labelling on imported cosmetics.
V. LABELLING
/g108 With regard to the time of registration procedures, at present, the approval of most foodG/TBT/W/237
Page 3
labelling is completed within the time lim it stipulated in the relevant Regulations.
/g108 With regard to the standards for food labell ing, the existing standard for food labelling
applies to all prepackaged food sold in China, which also includes wine and spirit.
/g108 With regard to the producers’ discretion on the information contained on the labels, all
Chinese information on the label of prepackag ed food sold in China must comply with
relevant Chinese regulations on food labelling.  Producers do not have discretion in this
regard.
/g108 With regard to labelling requirements, importers must submit the certificates for sale issued
by competent authorities in the country of manufacture while applying for approval of
Chinese-language label on import food.
/g108 With regard to labelling requirements for bulk products, so far, there are no labelling
approval requirements on the imported materials for food processing.
VI. CHEMICAL PRODUCTS
14. The Provisions on Environmental Administration of New Chemical Substances , promulgated
on 12 September, 2003 by the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA), has
come into force on 15 October, 2003.
15. In line with the Article 8, paragraph 3 in the Provisions, China does not deny the authenticity
of the testing data from the foreign testing institutions on the basis that these testing institutions
certified by the competent government agency in their own countries.  The ecological and
toxicological data thereof must include those obtained from the tests made in China on organisms
from China.
16. The Inventory of the Existing Chemical Substances  in China  was issued on
23 September 2003 by the SEPA.  The document was published on China Environment News, and it’s
now available both on the website of SEPA ( www.zhb.gov.cn ) and Chemical Registration Center of
SEPA ( www.crc-sepa.org.cn ).
17. The inventory consists of the existing chemical substances produced, sold, utilized in China
and import into China from 1 January, 1992 to 30 April, 2003.  The foreign chemical companies can
access the chemical substances contained in th e Inventory through above-mentioned channels.
18. At present, the draft of Regulations on Import and Export Registration of Hazardous
Chemicals  is under the final review by the governing authorities.
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