BSI signs deal with Standardization Administration of China

03 December 2013

Breakthrough for UK-China trade as both countries agree to recognize and adopt respective national standards

BSI, the UK National Standards Body appointed by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, has signed an agreement with China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) on the mutual recognition of voluntary standards for business and industry. This Memorandum of Understanding will enable British Standards to be more widely accepted in China.

Under the agreement, UK plc will be able to request that the Chinese adopt the British Standard for specific products and services. This will remove the need for a British company to demonstrate that it has met the equivalent Chinese standard - a breakthrough for UK-China trade - and will facilitate market access, saving time and money, and delivering real competitive advantage.

Dr Scott Steedman, Director of Standards at BSI said: “This agreement will help open the Chinese market up to British companies that were previously inaccessible and will benefit UK business, particularly SMEs, who are trying to sell products and services into China. Through the mutual recognition and adoption of British Standards, it will give buyers and sellers confidence in the goods and services they are purchasing.”

BSI has had a strong relationship with SAC for ten years, collaborating in the development of standards for business and industry; for the future the focus will be in areas such as corporate governance, emerging technologies, sustainable development and future cities. This agreement will further strengthen and raise the profile of this relationship, to underpin trade between UK and China, especially in businesses that use standards to accelerate their route to market, and to drive innovation and growth.

BSI is now collating feedback from UK plc on which standards they would like BSI to promote to China for adoption. Please email your suggestions and reasons for this to: standards.international@bsigroup.com