ANSI China Program Issues White Paper on Foreign Participation in Chinese Tech Committees
July 3, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
| |
| Tools for Engineers |
IHS sells flexible standards collections and software to maximize your workflow.
To learn more, and for a free quote, please complete the form below. |
|
| |
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) released a white paper to educate and inform ANSI's members about an announcement outlining formal operating procedures for Chinese national technical committees (TCs).
Issued earlier this year by the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (SAC), the announcement helps increase overall transparency in China's standards system and provides open access to information on Chinese standards development, according to ANSI.
However, ANSI members expressed concern that the new TC operating procedures could limit foreign organizations' ability to participate in Chinese standards development, said ANSI.
Language in the announcement indicates that "foreign enterprises" can participate as observers in the TCs but foreign organizations' ability to participate as voting members was not addressed, said ANSI.
An official definition of the term "foreign enterprises" was not included in the SAC announcement.
Informal interpretations by affected parties included any foreign-owned company, any Chinese-registered subsidiary of a foreign or multinational company and/or any representative of a joint venture between a foreign-owned company and a Chinese company.
This ambiguity resulted in concerns for U.S. stakeholders who want to contribute their expertise and perspectives to the Chinese standards development process, said ANSI.
According to a 2006 survey conducted by the ANSI China Program, increasing transparency in China's standards, conformity assessment and regulatory system was a goal for ANSI members and constituents.
Source: American National Standards Institute (ANSI).