National certification board set up
( 2002-08-21 09:57 ) (1 )

A national body for the approval of organizations offering certification services was set up in Beijing on Tuesday.

Officials described the establishment of the China National Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment as a milestone, indicating the nation had finished its unified certification system.

"It is another achievement in providing product certifications following China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO)," said Wang Fengqing, director of the China National Regulatory Commission for Certification and Accreditation. He was speaking at a ceremony to mark the birth of the Beijing-based board.

The commission was the watchdog authorized by the central government to supervise certification in the market.

The newly established board is authorized to issue licences to those organizations qualified to conduct certification, training and national accreditation for laboratories.

The board is also in charge of daily activities of China National Accreditation Board for Laboratories, China National Accreditation Board for Certification Agents and China National Auditor and Training Accreditation Board.

In recent years, China has worked hard to unify its separate quality authentication systems and improve efficiency for domestic and foreign enterprises in this regard.

"This shows that China is acting in accordance with international practices and we will keep our promise that China would observe WTO rules after it became a member," Wang said.

There were previously two sets of quality authentication systems in China - one was established by the former State Administration for Quality and Technology Supervision, while the former State Administration for Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine ran the other.

The two systems overlapped with each other in many aspects, and each did not admit those enterprises that have been passed by the other.

This caused a great inconvenience to enterprises, especially those dealing in both the domestic market and foreign trade.

The two systems carried different national quality standards, which has led to complaints of discrimination from overseas businesses.

In August 2000, the State Council pushed for these two independent quality supervision authorities and the quarantine authority to become the ministerial-level State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine. This paved the way for the merger of the two systems.

The China National Regulatory Commission for Certification and Accreditation established last year is also an important step for China's certification reform.

Wang required the newly established board to keep in line with international practices and make contributions to product quality control and the promotion of international trade.