AQSIQ in China: What Exporters Must Know

Suggestion: Watch the 10 minutes video tutorial before reading this article

In recent years, China has implemented stricter import regulations due to various reasons. The increased number of imported goods, domestic scandals, and adoptions of Western standards are just some examples.

Before you start exporting to China, it’s important that you have sufficient knowledge about governing organs that introduce new regulations and standards. Yet, this is generally not the case.

In this article, I present one of the biggest quality management institute in China you should know about, namely AQSIQ.

Topics covered:

• What is AQSIQ?
• The AQSIQ-certificate
• CIQ – China Inspection and Quarantine Services
• FDA and AQSIQ’s operational agreement
• AQSIQ-Registration for the Export of Recycling Material to China
• AQSIQ Renewals

What is AQSIQ?

AQSIQ is an abbreviation from The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and grants approval for imports of a wide range of products.

Moreover, it controls inspections, quality controls and has great power in decision making.

As an exporter, it’s important that you’re aware of the organs that control quality standards and certifications in the country where you export your products.

As mentioned, AQSIQ is one of the major quality management institutes that every exporter should be aware of before they ship goods to China.

In short words, AQSIQ is responsible for entry/exit inspections of goods, food safety for imports and exports, certifications, and standardization in China.

The institute is governed under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and controls other major subsidiary bodies as well.

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The Structure of AQISQ

The organization consists of 19 departments, 15 direct affiliates, and 10 associations. Almost 130,000 people work within the organization, a number comparable with many companies listed on the Fortune 500 list.

For your reference, I’ve listed some of the 19 departments that operates within AQSIQ below:

• The department of Quality Management
• The department of Supervision on Health Quarantine
• The department of Legislation
• The bureau of Import and Export Food Safety.
• The bureau of Special Equipment Safety Supervision
• The department of Supervision on Product Quality
• The department of Supervision on Food Production
• The department of Law Enforcement and Supervision
• The department of International Cooperation (WTO affairs)

CNCA and SAC

Worth mentioning is that AQSIQ administers two other major entities in China:

• CNCA (The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the P.R. China)
• SAC (The Standardization Administration of the P.R. China)

The entities work with quality management and have major responsibilities for quality assurance of imported products as well.

One example of responsibilities under the CNCA is to introduce new regulations and laws related to hygiene registrations, safety licenses, and more. It also issues the catalog listing all the products that need the CCC mark.

SAC, on the other hand, is the main organ that manages standardization work in China. For example, the SAC represents China in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and similar organizations. Laws include:

• Management Measures of Industrial Standards
• Standardization Mechanism and Policy
• Standardization Law of P.R.C.
• Enforcement Regulations of Standardization Law
• Management Measures of National Standards

The AQSIQ-certificate

Before you export to China, you need to make sure whether an AQSIQ certificate is needed for your products.

The certificate grants that your products are tested and satisfy the quality and environmental standards if required. You might end up in troublesome and costly situations if you become aware of this too late.

The Chinese customs can, for example, seize or demolish the goods if a certificate is required but missing. The following product segments can be obligated to have an AQSIQ certificate:

• Special equipment (e.g. pressure vessels, boilers, pressure pipelines, elevators)
• Products that have the CCC-mark
• Textiles and carpets
• Scrap materials
• Paper, printing and packaging
• Household goods, furniture and furnishings
• Electronics
• Food and drinks
• Chemicals

Note! The list is updated continuously. Be sure to collect the latest information before you start exporting any products.

And don’t forget:

Even if the certificate isn’t mandatory for your products, it can still help you to diverge from competitors, giving you an edge.

The certificate shows that you work pro-actively with production quality measures and meet environmental requirements.

The application process and fees

People often ask how they can receive the certificate. Well, the application process is not the easiest as you need to fill in 17 (including in the Chinese language).

Let’s review an example of the application process for a foreign company that wants to export scrap materials, for example:

• Submission of application to the department for supervision on inspection

• Examination of the application. Additional materials to be submitted within 30 days if you haven’t met the requirements needed. If the examination shows that you are not compliant to receive the AQSIQ certificate here, a Non-acceptance notice is issued

• If the examination shows you’re compliant to proceed, an Acceptance notice is issued

• A more detailed evaluation is executed. If the requirements are not met here, a rectification must be done within 30 days. A Notification of Failure is issued if you can’t meet the requirements, i.e. your registration is not compliant

• If the evaluation is okay, a certificate can be issued directly. Though, in some cases, on-spot assessments are required prior to the certification

The cost you need to pay for the first application stretches from USD 0 to 3800, depending on what products you plan to export, and if you are a member of AQSIQ or ISO 9001.

A membership in AQSIQ or ISO 9001 requires the same application costs, except for food and cosmetics, where you need to pay 300 USD for the latter one (it’s free to apply if you are a member of AQSIQ whatsoever).

If you are not a member, the fees will be around 2-3 times higher in comparison with an enterprise that has an ISO 9001 membership. You get a discount of 20% on your second application and 35% on your third, in the long run, you’ll save a lot of money.

CIQ – China Inspection and Quarantine Services

To manage entry/exit inspections and quality controls all over China demands a lot of work and administration. Therefore AQSIQ has set up 35 so-called CIQ-offices (China Inspection and Quarantine services) in 31 of China’s provinces.

These offices support AQSIQ (the mother organ), for example, with inspections and quality controls.

The CIQ-offices have a vast network of laboratories (over 3000 to be more accurate) and make sure to secure the quality of products imported to China.

In addition to the CIQ offices, there are several hundreds of local offices and branches that operate close to harbors and airports to manage inspections and quality assurances.

You can find local CIQ offices by searching the internet

I recommend you to read my separate guide that explains more about CIQ.

FDA and AQSIQ’s operational agreement

I want to show you how important AQSIQ really is and how it’s cooperating with foreign organs outside the borders of China.

As you’ve probably heard, the US has an institution equivalent to AQSIQ called FDA (The US Food and Drug Administration).

The two entities have collaborated since 2007 when their first contract was signed. The main purpose of the agreement is to establish a closer relationship between the entities, working more closely.

Hence, they can work continuously to enhance the quality of food and other imported products that are traded between the countries.

The agreement includes the following points (And can be found on FDA’s website):

• Make it easier for FDA to classify high-risk products that are imported to the US from China.

• More focus on high-risk products that are frequently exported from China to the US.

• Improvement of inspection processes for companies that produce food.

Since the first agreement was signed, FDA has opened offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. FDA and local Chinese authorities have seen remarkable improvements in communications and cooperation since the establishment of the offices.

In the future, we will hopefully see more similar agreements between China and other foreign countries.

AQSIQ-Registration for the Export of Recycling Material to China

Registration for the export of recycling material to China is required to assure that the imported products meet local safety regulations.

China has long been a big importer of scrapped parts and recycling material, a reason why you can find whole pages dedicated to the topic.

Products and material that require AQSIQ registration include:

• Scrap metal
• Recyclable plastics
• Recyclable paper
• Recyclable textiles
• Scrap electronics
• Wood waste

AQSIQ Renewals

ASQIQ renewals were introduced as late as 2013 and foreign companies must apply for renewals of their AQSIQ certificates at least 6 months before the expiry date.

To apply for a renewal, you have to provide the following documents:

• The username and password in the electronic system from China’s AQSIQ department

• CCIC certificates (such as pre-shipment inspection certificates for waste scrap materials. One for each type the past three years are needed)

• Notarized business & tax registration documents, including translations into Chinese

• More than 10 photos that show the office and processing yard (if existing)

• The floor plan marked with the size and unit of the office and processing yard (if existing)

• Color copy of your AQSIQ certificate

How can you help me take the next step?

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a. AQSIQ, CIQ, CCC, labeling and laboratory testing

b. Shipping and customs

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