Originally Published PMPN October
2004
Regulatory Focus
ASTM Inks Agreement
with Chinese Standards Body
Signing is the
latest step in the organization’s involvement in China.
Ben
Van Houten
Senior Editor
As part of its increasing involvement in Chinese standardization, ASTM International
(West Conshohocken, PA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with
the national standards body of China.
Senior officials from ASTM International and the Standardization Administration
of the People’s Republic of China (SAC) signed the MOU on August 20 in
Beijing. The agreement will reportedly enhance the ability of SAC and ASTM International
to support the needs of the Chinese people and aid in the development of Chinese
national standards for health, safety, and the environment.
“With China’s trade topping $400 billion for both imports and exports
in 2003, standards are of the utmost importance,” says ASTM president James
A. Thomas. “The signing of this MOU with the SAC is a great step forward
to encouraging greater access to ASTM standards in China as well as a bigger
voice by Chinese experts in the content of ASTM standards.”
The MOU, also signed by SAC vice administrator Zhang Yanhua, is designed to
strengthen the relationship between the two standards organizations. As part
of the agreement, both groups agreed to explore cooperation opportunities for
standards development in areas of mutual interest. In addition, ASTM agreed
to:
• Provide the full collection of ASTM standards to SAC.
• Jointly sponsor standards and training technical committees.
• Provide participating membership to representatives of SAC on ASTM technical
committees.
• Provide internship programs for SAC experts to come to ASTM International
headquarters for extended study of the ASTM International standards development
process.
SAC, meanwhile, agreed to:
• Promote the acceptance and use of ASTM standards in China.
• Utilize the resources of ASTM International to develop Chinese National
Standards and reference ASTM standards where applicable in Chinese National
standards.
• Provide access to current ASTM standards including a link to ASTM International’s
Web site on the SAC home page.
• Facilitate connections between Chinese technical experts and ASTM International
technical committees to ensure that the standards meet the needs of Chinese
industry.
ASTM International has been involved with China since 1984. Since that time,
ASTM has been working to make its standards useful, familiar, and necessary
to the Chinese standards community and to the government agencies and businesses
for which they work. Its current involvement in the country includes agreements
with other standards organizations. These include the Chinese National Institute
of Standardization (CNIS) and the Shanghainese version of its magazine, Standardization
News, as a joint venture with the China Association for Standardization (CAS).
SAC has reported that it currently uses nearly 500 ASTM standards as the basis
for its national standards in China.
Aside from the Chinese National Standards and International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) standards, ASTM standards are the most commonly used standards
in China. According to ASTM statistics, Chinese standards professionals use
more ASTM standards than their German, Japanese, or British counterparts.
Copyright ©2004
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