SAC Plans to Revise Technical Committee Management Rules

On April 12, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) held a seminar in Beijing to collect comments and opinions regarding revision work of the China Technical Committee Management Rules. 
 
China's Technical Committees (TCs) are government-led standards development organizations. The Rules are a key SAC policy document to ensure that TCs align their practices with the provisions in WTO TBT Annex 3 "Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards", and China's standards development process is transparent, open to participants on a global basis and consensus-oriented. USITO submitted a letter to SAC in 2014 with regard to Foreign-Invested Enterprises' equal participatory rights in the development of commercial technology standards, addressing the principle that TCs shall ensure standards are not prepared, adopted or applied to the effect that it creates unnecessary obstacles to international trade.
 
According to the discussion at the seminar, the revisions will target several key portions of the Rules, including TCs:
  • Responsibilities
  • Establishment
  • Organizational Structure
  • Work Procedures
  • Budget Management
  • Supervision and Review 
SAC Deputy Director Yu Xinli and representatives from ministries and industry associations joined the discussion.