Abstract:Certification and accreditation activities are the national quality infrastructure and the guarantee for the construction of a quality power. In recent years, the mainland certification and accreditation service industry has grown rapidly, and its comprehensive strength has been significantly enhanced. The field of certification and accreditation services in China continues to expand, and is widely used in various fields of national economic and social development. By the end of February 2024, a total of 3,824,000 valid certification certificates have been issued by mainland certification bodies, an increase of 64,500 from the end of 2023, including 2,090,200 management system certification certificates, 1,659,700 product certification certificates, and 74,047 service certification certificates.
1. Definitions and Classification
According to the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation (2020 Revised Edition): certification refers to the conformity assessment activities in which the certification body certifies that the products, services and management systems meet the mandatory requirements or standards of relevant technical specifications and relevant technical specifications. Accreditation refers to the conformity assessment activities recognized by the accreditation body on the competence and practice qualifications of certification bodies, inspection bodies, laboratories and personnel engaged in certification activities such as assessment and auditing. There are two main ways to divide certification, one is divided into compulsory certification and voluntary certification according to the degree of compulsion, and the other is divided according to the certification object, which is divided into management system certification, service certification and product certification. Among them, product certification includes compulsory product certification (i.e., CCC certification) and voluntary product certification.
Second, industry policies
1. Competent authorities and regulatory system
The competent authority of the certification and accreditation industry is the State Administration for Market Regulation. According to the "Plan for Deepening the Reform of Party and State Institutions" issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in March 2018, the State Administration for Market Regulation is responsible for the unified management of measurement standards, inspection and testing, certification and accreditation, etc., and the responsibilities of the CNCA and the Standardization Administration of the State are transferred to the State Administration for Market Regulation and the brand is retained.
The self-regulatory organization of the industry is the China Certification and Accreditation Association. Founded in 2005, China Certification and Accreditation Association is a non-profit and national industry organization composed of members and individual members of accreditation bodies, certification bodies, certification training institutions, certification consulting bodies, laboratories, inspection and testing institutions and some certified organizations in the certification and accreditation industry, and accepts the business guidance, supervision and management of the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Civil Affairs in accordance with the law. The association has set up testing branches and other branch organizations, and its main work includes: advocating industry self-discipline, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of members, and promoting inspection and testing service institutions to participate in market competition in a fair and orderly manner.
2. Industry-related policies
In recent years, in order to promote the development of the inspection and testing industry, the mainland has successively issued many policies, such as the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Certification, Accreditation, Inspection and Testing" issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation in July 2022, which proposes to accelerate the construction of a certification and accreditation inspection and testing system with unified management, joint implementation, authoritative credibility and general mutual recognition around the development requirements of "marketization, internationalization, specialization, intensification and standardization", so as to better serve the high-quality development of the economy and society; During the period, the main development indicators include the increase of the total number of valid certification certificates to 3.2 million by 2025, and the increase of the number of approved certification bodies to 1,500. In September 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Several Measures of Market Supervision Departments to Promote the Development of the Private Economy", proposing: to promote cross-industry and cross-regional mutual recognition of certification results, deepen the reform of the compulsory product certification system, further simplify the CCC certification process, comprehensively promote the reform of the qualification approval system of certification bodies, promote the electronic approval of certification bodies, carry out actions to improve the quality management system certification of private enterprises, and improve the quality and technological innovation capabilities of private enterprises.
Third, the development process
Certification and recognition are "imported products" in the mainland. The mainland certification and accreditation system began at the beginning of the reform and opening up in the seventies and eighties of the 20th century, and developed with the development of the mainland market economy, which can be roughly divided into three stages.
Pilot and initial stage of certification work (1978-1991): In 1978, Continental rejoined the International Organization for Standardization and began to understand that certification is an effective means of evaluation, supervision and management of product quality. In 1981, the establishment of the China Electronic Components Certification Committee marked the beginning of the mainland's formal reference to foreign certification systems. From the mid-80s to the early 90s of the 20th century, the mainland has successively established a series of product certification systems for household appliances, electronic entertainment equipment, medical equipment, automobiles, food, fire products, etc.
Certification work full implementation stage (1991-2001): In May 1991, the State Council promulgated the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Product Quality Certification", marking that the quality certification work in mainland China has entered a new stage of comprehensive standardization from the pilot start. At this stage, in addition to the comprehensive establishment and implementation of product certification, the mainland has also made important progress in the field of management system certification, and has successively established ISO9001 quality management system, ISO14001 environmental management system, OHSAS18001 occupational health and safety management system and other certification systems.
Establishment and implementation of a unified certification system (2001 to present): In August 2001, in order to meet the needs of the mainland's accession to the WTO and improve the socialist market economic system, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council decided to merge the former State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision and the State Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau to form the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China, and establish the State Certification and Accreditation Commission, which marked the establishment of a unified certification and accreditation management system in the mainland.
Fourth, industry barriers
1. Qualification barriers
According to the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation and the Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies, CNCA licenses must be obtained to carry out certification business, and according to the relevant regulations of the National Accreditation Commission, CNAS qualifications will be issued to laboratories that meet the CNAS-CL01:2018 "Accreditation Criteria for Testing and Calibration Laboratories". In addition, institutions that carry out certification business in subdivided fields will also be subject to the review and supervision of government departments and industry associations in their subdivisions. The multi-faceted audit strictly constitutes a qualification barrier for new entrants.
2. Technical barriers
The certification and accreditation industry has high requirements for professional and technical level, and the advanced level of technology has a significant impact on business development. In order to ensure the leading level of technology, the certification body needs to continue to carry out the research and development of new technologies and new projects to form the advantage of technical reserves, which requires the certification body to continue to innovate on the basis of in-depth understanding of the regulations and standards in various subdivisions, and to be able to transform the content of the regulations and standards into mature testing methods. The advanced level of technology is an important barrier to enter the certification and accreditation industry.
3. Brand barriers
As an important part of the modern service industry, brand credibility is the key to the sustainable development of certification bodies, and the formation of brand credibility is a long-term process. As an organization that provides technical services, the credibility of the certification certificate issued by the certification body has a greater impact on the brand, and a good brand credibility helps to increase market share. For certification bodies, the construction of brand credibility requires long-term accumulation, and depends on the technical level, R&D capabilities and service quality of certification bodies.
Fifth, the industrial chain
1. Analysis of the industry chain
The upstream of the certification and accreditation industry includes laboratory construction projects, experimental analysis instruments, laboratory consumables, related work software and testing technicians. The midstream link includes certification and accreditation services, and the downstream covers a wide range of industries and needs. The downstream fields mainly include food, agricultural products, consumer goods, industrial products, life sciences, environmental monitoring and other fields.
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