Regardless of whether a product is imported or produced domestically, it is often required to obtain specific certificates, marks or licenses in advance in order to be granted market access. Certification, marks and licensing schemes in China are based on various technical standards, and generally involve factory, production and quality management systems. These could be:
- Vertical, i.e. applying to specific sectors or products only, such as the Radio Type Approval / SRRC for telecoms equipment; cosmetics registration certificate; SAMR registration certificate for infant formula and health food; etc.
- Horizontal, i.e. applying for certain features or characteristics of products found across many industries, such as the China Compulsory Certification (CCC), China Energy Label, China RoHS II, etc.
Certificates, marks and licenses are generally mandatory: goods cannot be sold without obtaining them. There are, however, a number of certification schemes that are voluntary (e.g., China’s Green Product Certification), yet they are strongly recommended as they often constitute the basis on which government incentives and subsidies are granted, or public procurement decisions made; and they are also a strong driver for marketing activities.
In general, electronic and energy-consuming products face the highest requirements, together with those products targeted for and used by children. But it must be kept in mind that, even within a sector specific products or subcategories may be exempted from
such certification, or nonetheless are subject lighter procedures (e.g. self-declaration rather than third-party certification). EU SMEs must examine in detail all the technical requirements applicable to their products and usage. Finally, relevant producers will also need to comply with other relevant standards, e.g. in terms of labelling, packaging, limits of hazardous substances, etc.
EU SMEs can visit the website of the Seconded European Standardisation Expert in China (SESEC)), a project co-funded by the EU providing information on Chinese standards and technical regulations.
