On 16 October a new Europe-China Standards Information Platform (CESIP), designed by the Sustainable Development Association (SDA) with the support of the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), was launched. The platform is seen as having particular significance for enabling access to China for SMEs.
Aimed at facilitating trade between the two regions, the web-based portal – http://eu-china-standards.eu – is a valuable source of information regarding the relevant regulatory regime, standards and standardization systems in Europe and in China. Businesses have free access to this powerful search engine to easily and quickly find the standard references needed for their products. The information and the searches can be carried out in English and Chinese.
Considerable added value of this portal for European Industry is that the search on Chinese standards is not just limited to national standards (voluntary and mandatory), but also to the relevant industry (sector) standards. Normally, these are more difficult to obtain for foreign companies wanting to do business with China.
The platform currently includes information on four sectors (Electrical Appliances, Machinery, Medical Devices and Environmental Protection). The portal will be complemented by other sectors once the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) and the European Standardization Organizations CEN, CENELEC and ETSI in Europe take over this platform with the support of the European Commission and EFTA.
