WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/22 
21 November 2007 
 (07-5125) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  
 
 
 
SIXTH ANNUAL TRANSITIONAL REVIEW MANDATED IN  
PARAGRAPH 18 OF THE PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION OF  
THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
 
 
1. This report reflects the results of the Si xth Annual Transitional Review mandated in 
Paragraph 18 of the Protocol of Accession of th e People's Republic of China (WT/L/432) that took 
place at the 9 November 2007 meeting of the Committee. 
2. In the context of the Sixth Annual Review, s ubmissions were made by Japan (G/TBT/W/278), 
the United States (G/TBT/W/279) and the European Communities (G/TBT/W/281).  Questions raised 
included the following elements:  the Chinese Com pulsory Certification system (CCC); China's 
national standard-setting process and the use of inte rnational standards; ICT products; automobiles; 
pharmaceuticals; cosmetics; medical devices; textiles;  China's registration system for environmental 
management on the import and export of toxic chemicals; measures on the environmental 
management of new chemical substances; food labe lling; administration on the control of pollution 
caused by electronic information products; transp arency; conformity assessment procedures; and 
battery standards. 
3. Submission was made by the People's Republic of China on 5 November 2007 
(G/TBT/W/282) providing information relating to A nnex 1A of WT/L/432.  The statements made at 
the meeting, where discussions under the transitiona l review took place, will be reflected in the 
minutes of the meeting, to be circulated as G/TBT/M/43 (excerpt attached). 
 
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 G/TBT/22 
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  ATTACHMENT – EXCERPT FROM G/TBT/M/43 
 AGENDA ITEM 3:  SIXTH ANNUAL TRANSITIONAL REVIEW MANDATED IN  PARAGRAPH 18 OF THE PROTOCOL OF AC CESSION OF  THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC 
OF CHINA 
  
1. The Chairman
 recalled that, in accordance with Paragra ph 18 of the Protocol of Accession of 
the People's Republic of China (WT/L/432), the TBT Committee would undertake an annual review 
for eight years of the implementation by China of the TBT Agreement.   
2. The representative of Japan  highlighted some issues contained in his delegation's submission 
(G/TBT/W/278).  He referred to the China Compulsory Certification system (the "CCC System");  under this system, no foreign conformity assessme nt bodies ("CABs") had yet been accredited by 
China according to Article 13 of the Regulations of  the People's Republic of China on Certification 
and Accreditation, which permitted only Chinese CA Bs to engage in CCC certification activities.  
Japan considered this provision inconsistent with the objective of Article 6.4 of the TBT Agreement 
and with China's commitment in Paragraph 195 of the Report of the Working Party.  Japan requested 
China to permit foreign CABs to participate in  CCC certification activities under conditions no less 
favourable than those accorded to Chinese CABs in light  of the TBT Agreement.   It was also recalled 
that cross-border designation of conformity assessme nt bodies was a useful mechanism for promoting 
mutual recognition of conformity assessment results. 
3. The representative of Japan noted that problems remained with respect to China's domestic 
standardization system, particularly with the distinction between compulsory and recommended 
standards.  Japanese industry had reported instances when administrative action had been taken when 
recommended standards had not been met, leadin g to the conclusion that recommended standards 
were in fact compulsory.  The experience of Japanese industry was that any Chinese standard was 
regarded as sufficient criteria fo r spot checking and subsequent administrative action and that 
compulsory standards appeared to be applied in China to areas well beyond the scope of health, 
safety, property and environment.  Japan referred to the commitment in Paragraph 182 of the Report 
of the Working Party on the Accession of China
1 and urged China to make a clear differentiation 
between "technical regulations" and "s tandards", not just in the notification process, but also in actual 
implementation and enforcement. 
4. The representative addressed China's regulati on on the Administration of the Control of 
Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products , which listed electronic and IT products that 
were subject to mandatory conformity assessment with national or industrial standards under the CCC 
system.  Japan requested China to be more specific about the required standards and to provide a sufficient comment period, in accordance with the TB T Agreement, for the development of the list of 
affected products and a pplicable standards.  
5. The representative said Japan had continuing con cerns with respect to China's Registration 
System for Environmental Management on the Initia l Imports of Chemical Products and the Import 
and Export of Toxic Chemicals.  The Chinese State Environment Protection Agency ("SEPA") had released a revision of "Highly Restricted Importe d and Exported Toxic Chemicals" on 28 December 
2005 which entered into force on 1 January 2006 a nd added a further 158 chemicals to the list.  
Furthermore, importers into China were requi red to pay an amount of USD10,000 to obtain a 
Registration Certificate valid for two years, in respect  of the listed chemicals.  Japan queried the basis 
for the cost and duration of the Registration Certificate and the process upon expiration of the two year period.  Japan enquired about the progress on the implementation of the new draft regulation 
                                                     
 
1 WT/ACC/CHN/49.  G/TBT/22 
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  titled "Import and Export Registrati on Regulation of Dangerous Chem icals" released by SEPA in 
September 2002, which repeals the existing legislation. 
6. The representative commented with regard to  China's draft standard on mobile phone 
batteries, Japan shared concerns raised by the United States and European Communities in their 
respective submissions before the TBT Committee on the lack of clarity and information regarding 
the development of applicable standards.  Japan indicated its willingness to provide input towards 
improving the draft standard on mobile phone batteries.  
7. The representative of the United States  highlighted some issues contained in his delegation's 
submission (G/TBT/W/279).  He noted that the Sixt h Transitional Review showed there were areas of 
progress and areas where concerns remained.   
8. The United States was of the view that in the area of technical regulations and conformity 
assessment procedures, a significant number of me asures continued to be introduced or amended 
without the advance notification required under the TBT Agreement.  The United States requested 
China to update the Committee on steps taken or pla nned to increase the frequency of notifications 
and the use of notice and comment procedures in its regulatory process.  Simila r to other delegations, 
the United States was concerned about the use of  "recommended standards" which China did not 
notify;  in many instances, the United States ha d found that demonstrating compliance with such 
standards was effectively mandatory. 
9. The United States joined Japan and the Eur opean Communities in encouraging China to 
accept certification and tests performed by accredite d foreign conformity assessment bodies for the 
CCC mark and for other regulatory programmes.  Th e representative welcomed China's acceptance of 
the IEC CB testing scheme for so me electrical and electronic com ponents, equipment and components 
for the CCC programme. 
10. Concerning medical devices, the representative noted that proposed Decree 95 appeared to 
impose duplicative and burdensome requirements on imported medical devices and had not been 
notified to the WTO.  The United States urged Chin a to notify the proposed measure and suspend the 
1 December 2007 implementation date until it had considered comments submitted by WTO 
Members and interested persons and had made appropriate modifications to the measure.  
11. In respect of battery standards for mobile phones, the representative expressed concern that 
the development process for the applicable sta ndards had not been open and transparent.  He 
requested clarification from China as to whether de monstrating compliance with the battery standard 
would be a requirement for mobile phone manufactur ers or battery manufacturers in order to obtain 
type approval, CCC mark registration or other appr oval before selling their products in China.  
12. The representative had a number of outstanding questions relating to China's administration 
on the control of pollution caused by electronic in formation products.  The United States requested 
that China inform the Committee when the product catalogue for products requiring certification 
would be issued.  
13. The representative of the European Communities  highlighted some issues contained in his 
delegation's submission (G/TBT/W/281).  He noted an increase in cooperation between China and the 
European Communities on TBT issues;  formal c ooperation mechanisms had been established which 
worked well.  Nevertheless, a number of concerns remained. 
14. Like previous delegations, the European Comm unities had a general concern with respect to 
China's Compulsory Certification system (CCC).  Despite several changes over the years, it remained 
a burdensome, expensive and time c onsuming conformity assessment procedure, particularly for small G/TBT/22 
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  and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  Current re quirements of the CCC system were not always 
relevant to the level of risk the products posed, which implied that the CCC system was more trade 
restrictive than necessary.  The Eur opean Communities was of the view that the system needed to be 
streamlined and simplified.  The European Communi ties noted work being carried out by the Chinese 
authorities to introduce a conformity assessment proce dure linked to the level of risk posed by the 
products listed in the CCC Product Catalogue.  Th e European Communities encouraged China to 
accelerate the process and indicated its willingness to  share its experiences of managing conformity 
assessment procedures based on the supplier declaration of conformity for some products.  Some 
specific proposals for the simplification of the CCC system were offered in the EC submission.  
15. On standardization, the European Commun ities emphasized the importance of ensuring 
effective participation of foreign-owned enterprises  established in China on the same conditions as 
Chinese-owned enterprises, in the domestic sta ndards development process.  The European 
Communities shared the concern of Japan and the Un ited States on the lack of distinction between 
voluntary and compulsory standards and requested Chin a to clarify the effective differences.  Another 
area of concern related to the development of domestic standards, especially in areas where 
internationally recognised standards already existed a nd in particular in the ICT field.  The European 
Communities preferred to see China's standardizati on efforts integrated mo re into the established 
international standardization organizations.  The European Communities remained committed to 
support all respective activities of Chinese standardizing bodies.  
16. On the subject of Chinese standards for mob ile phones, the European Communities noted the 
growing trend to regulate detailed aspects of desi gn and quality and urged China to limit the scope of 
compulsory standards to aspects related to the prot ection of public interest such as human health and 
safety, property, or the environment.   
17. Regarding cosmetics, the representative expr essed concern that there was a difference 
between the approval procedures in place for domes tic products and for im ported products.  The 
European Communities urged Chinese authorities to uni fy multiple cosmetic labelling and to facilitate 
manufacturers' compliance.  
18. On medical devices, the European Communiti es was concerned about double certification 
requirements.  Moreover, the European Communities was of the view that new or fully refurbished 
medical devices needed to be treat ed in the same way;  the ban on refurbished products was not 
justified.  As a general principle, the Europ ean Communities urged the Ch inese authorities to follow 
the guidelines developed by the Global Harmonisation Task Force for medical devices.  Furthermore, 
unless the purpose of Order 95 was confirmed to be no more than to clarify the practical application 
of the existing rules, the Eur opean Communities requested that China notify the text under the 
relevant provisions of the TBT Agreement.   
19. On textiles, the representative urged China to allo w market forces to operate in its trade in 
raw materials in general and in particular to abo lish the compulsory nature of raw silk testing and 
terminate discriminatory treatment of foreign buyers.  
20. On the regulation of toxic chemicals, the European Communities joined Japan in their 
questions regarding China's new regulations govern ing environmental management of the import and 
export of chemicals and the consistency of the legislation with the TBT Agreement.  
21. The representative of China
 introduced her delegation's submission (G/TBT/W/282).  In 
respect of transparency, it was stre ssed that China had made more than 300 TBT notifications within 
the last six years, providing in each case a sixty day comment period and copies of full texts of 
notified measures upon request.  The Chinese representa tive said China was an active participant in  G/TBT/22 
 Page 5 
 
 
  the Committee's work on transparency and informati on exchange and would con tinue this engagement 
and would welcome support from other Members in or der for it to meet transparency objectives.  
22. Regarding conformity assessment procedures, the representative said China's basis for 
adopting a conformity assessment procedure had to do with whether it achieved the goal of ensuring 
effective protection of consumer interests and product safety.  Chin a was of the view that the CCC 
system was legally based on the objectives establis hed by the TBT Agreement and addressed China's 
needs in the areas of management.  On the othe r hand, the system of Supplier's Declaration of 
Conformity (SDoC) proposed by the European Co mmunities necessitated additional management in 
the areas of market surveillance, product liability la w, and administrative control.  China had therefore 
not as yet made a decision to change its conformity assessment procedures.  Furthermore, the 
representative pointed out that certification bodies established in China could be accredited as CCC 
certification bodies officially authorised by CNCA.  Foreign certification bodies, however, could only be certified through government-t o-government agreements.   
23. On the subject of standardization, the Chin ese representative said th e Chinese authorities had 
made clear that mandatory standards were co mpulsory and recommended standards were not 
compulsory.  She informed th e Committee that China's harmonisation of its standards with 
international standards would be a pr iority in its standardization work. 
24. In respect of the border examination of medical devices by the body for the General 
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China 
(AQSIQ), under Decree 95, the representative stated  that the Decree was ai med at streamlining the 
inspection scheme and achieving uniformity of enforcement practices and procedures.  China was of 
the view that AQSIQ's inspection and supervisio n at the port of entry was in accordance with 
international practice and pointed out that Chinese- made products had to meet the same inspection 
and certification requirements upon export to other count ries and regions.  Nevertheless, in the light of 
the confusion amongst China's trading partners in respect of the Decree, Members' comments would 
be conveyed to the competent Chinese authorities for cons ideration and in order to address the issues.    
25. In respect of battery standards for mobile phon es, the representative said the purpose of the 
standard was to achieve consumer  convenience and address environmen tal concerns.  She pointed out 
that the development process of the standard had been open and transparent and the standard itself was voluntary and sectoral rather than national.  China took note of Members' concerns and would 
ensure the standard was in comp liance with the WTO Agreement.  
26. On the issue of toxic chemicals, the represen tative said China was of the view that toxic 
chemicals comprised a high pollution risk and potential harm to human, animal and plant life and 
health and as such, the Chinese gove rnment was entitled to exercise caution in the administration of 
the import and export of these products.  Furthermore,  compared with management of toxic chemicals 
in other Member countries which entailed superfund,  risk deposit and liability insurance, China 
considered the two-year cycle and the USD 10,000 re gistration fee to be reasonable and an effective 
measure for environment protection purposes.  China had made considerable effort since accession to 
improve the scheme and was considering revising th e regulation of import a nd export registration of 
dangerous chemicals.  During the revision process, comment and opinions would be solicited from all domestic and foreign government agenci es, enterprises and/or individuals. 
27. Regarding the Administration Measures on the Control of Pollution caused by Electronic 
Information Products, the representative of China in formed the Committee that the compilation of the 
catalogue of products requiring certification was s till being researched.  China would notify the WTO 
once the catalogue was available and would allow suffi cient time for comments before enforcement.  
It was noted that the list of laboratories that we re currently accredited to perform hazardous substance 
testing in China could be accessed on the website (www.cnca.gov.cn).  The list could be extended and G/TBT/22 
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  was not closed.  In the event that bilateral re cognition agreements were signed between China and 
other Members, foreign laboratories accredited in their countries could become accredited in China. 
China would review IEC standards as and when requ ired and in accordance with future development 
of the IEC standards.    
28. Regarding automobiles, the CCC certifica tion served the same purpose as the UN/ECE 
certification, which was to guarantee consumers' safety.  However, compared to UN/ECE 
certification, the Chinese CCC system was more simple  and cost effective.  Chinese auto makers at 
present could not adapt themselves well to the ECE sy stem mainly due to the fact that the cost of 
application was too high and far beyond the capacit y of those auto manufacturers.  China understood 
the positive effect of the 1958 Agreement and was c onsidering joining as a contracting party to the 
Agreement at an appropriate time in the future. 
29. The Chairman
 thanked all delegations for their st atements and the Committee adopted its 
report to the Council for Trade in Goods (G/TBT/22). 
 
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