Category: Compliance & Testing

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

China has mostly been known for being the biggest manufacturing country in the world, producing pretty much anything available on this heart.

In the past years, we’ve also seen a shift where China tries to focus on imports rather than exports, boosting local consumption thanks to increased disposable incomes.

The government does its utmost to encourage foreign brands to export products to China, offering reduced taxes for cross-border eCommerce sales, reduced barriers, and more.

With that said, the country has also started to enforce stricter standards and certification procedures for brands who wish to sell in the country. With the increased adoption of foreign standards and measures to improve product quality, many foreign exporters are often aware of local regulations.

In this article, I explain what standards and certification procedures exist in China and what you have to consider before you enter the market.

Topics covered:

• Mandatory and Voluntary Standards in China
• Adoptions of International Standards in China
• Different Types of Standards
• What authorities are involved in the registration and inspection procedures?

Mandatory and Voluntary Standards in China

China has both mandatory and voluntary quality standards that you should separate. Now, you might wonder why you would even waste money and time following voluntary standards.

You can stand out from competitors if you meet voluntary standards, hence make your products more competitive. This could be the case if your products are ecological, for instance.

Around 85% of all national standards are mandatory and the remaining 15% is voluntary. All companies are obliged to follow mandatory standards and make sure that their products are safe to use and not harmful to neither people nor properties.

Confirm the standards required for your products before entering the Chinese market. Otherwise, your products might be seized or sent back to their country of origin. Continue reading China Standards & Certification Processes: The Ultimate Guide

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. Continue reading AQSIQ in China: What Exporters Must Know

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

China has been the biggest export nation in the world in the past decades, but times have started to change.

As the purchasing power increase and the government have vast goals to boost local consumption, exporters have started to enter the Chinese market in great numbers.

It’s said that the 21st century is Asia’s century where China will lead the pack and further contribute to neighboring countries’ development thanks to economic spillover and investments.

With that said, China is also a comparably difficult market to enter as a foreign exporter. One of the most crucial aspects is to confirm what labeling and certification requirements your products have to meet prior to exportation.

You’ve probably heard about CE and FCC (in the US), these standards are the most comprehensive worldwide. Few people have heard about China’s equivalent, the CCC mark.

In this article, I explain everything you need to know about China’s own certification mark, the CCC-mark, which is needed for a vast number of products sold in China.

Topics covered in this article:

• What is the China Compulsory Certificate (CCC)?
• The CCC Certification Procedure
• Products that Require the CCC Mark
• What happens if my products don’t have the CCC mark?
• Exemption From the CCC mark
• Application & Fees for the CCC

Continue reading CCC – China Compulsory Certification: A Complete Guide

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

Before you export to China, it’s important that you make sure that your products meet local Chinese regulations and standards.

This is mandatory before you can even clear the customs and sell the products to local consumers.

If you don’t have the certificates and documents needed, you’ll risk that the customs seize your goods, get heavy fines, or get kicked out of the Chinese market.

In this article, I explain GB standards, what these are, why you need to comply with them, and more.

Topics Covered:

• What are GB Standards?
• GB Testing for CCC and Other Certification
• Do I need to have a CCC mark if my products have GB-standards?
• Which GB standards are needed for my products?
• GB Standards for Product Lab Testing
• How can I find GB standards?
• Voluntary and Mandatory GB Standards
• Which authority issues GB standards in China?

What are GB Standards?

GB is an abbreviation of Guobiao (国标) which translates to ‘National Standards’ in Chinese.

The standards are used for all kinds of products and most of them have derived from the ISO standards we use in the West.

This is good for one reason:

As your products already comply with ISO standards used in the West, there’s a big chance you’ll have less issue to meet the local GB standards.

For some products, especially those that are edible, used by humans (like cosmetics), or have that an impact on safety, more and stricter GB standards apply.

Not only are the standards used for the product quality, but also for labeling, usage, storage, and more. For example, if you want to export wine to China, there are specific GB-standards explaining how the bottles should be labelled.

Information required on the label, according to the GB labelling standard, can be to show:

Continue reading GB Standards in China: What Exporters Must Know

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

Before you start exporting to China, you must know whether you need to apply for an import license.

Without an import license, you face the risk of not passing the customs clearance, which can be both time-consuming and costly. Even if applications for import licenses can be done fairly quickly, you should know in advance what an import license is and how to get one.

In this article, I explain all the relevant details you have to know about import licenses in China.

Topics covered:

• What is an import license?
• Which authority handles applications for import licenses in China?
• What is an automatic import license?
• What products need import licenses?
• When should I apply for an automatic import license?
• What information should be included on the automatic import license?
• China Import License Application
• FAQ

What is an import license?

Import licenses also referred to as non-automatic import licenses, are used to keep control of imported products and the import quotas.

The license is used as a non-tariff barrier and for countries that simply wants to protect the local economy and producers, restricting the amount of products that are imported.

Continue reading How to Get an Import License in China: A Complete Guide

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

Exporting to China can be a challenging project for companies that have little knowledge of the market.

One of the biggest and most costly issues exporters experience is that their products get stuck at the customs, or sent back, as they don’t comply with local CIQ regulations.

CIQ is an authority that can reject imports of your products to China, if you don’t comply with local standards.

In this article, I explain all the essentials you need to know about CIQ when exporting to China.

For example, the most preventive way to avoid that your goods get stuck at the customs is to apply for a CIQ declaration before you export your products to China.

The topics we review today are:

• What is CIQ?
• What are the duties of CIQ?
• Getting a CIQ Declaration
• Documents Needed when Applying For a CIQ Declaration
• CIQ Inspections
• CIQ Marks and Labels
• Fees Charged by CIQ
• What information does the CIQ certificate include?

Continue reading CIQ – China Inspection and Quarantine: The Definitive Guide

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

Labeling compliance is the number one issue that CIQ deals with when goods arrive at Chinese harbors and airports.

Foreign exporters could save plenty of time and money if they complied with local regulations from the start.

However, with the scarce information available online, it can be hard to find reliable information and professionals that help with label registrations in China.

In this article, we review the following topics:

• Overview of Labeling Requirements in China
• GB Standards for Labeling
• Labeling of Food Products and Beverages
• How can I register my Chinese labels?
• Documents Needed to Register Chinese Labels
• CIQ Inspections of Labels
• Do I need to translate my labels to Chinese?
• What happens if my labels don’t comply with local regulations?

Overview of Labeling Requirements in China

Before we start, I want to share some commonly asked questions among exporters:

• How China sets standards for product labeling
• What labeling standards that apply to your products
• Who manages the registration and approval of labels
• How you can prove that you comply with the standards

First of all, there are general national regulations issued by AQSIQ, MOFCOM and other authorities, often referred to as “announcements” or “decrees”.

These are issued to protect the rights and interests of consumers, uses of additives, labeling, product quality, just to mention a few.

Continue reading Product Labeling Regulations in China: A Complete Guide