ANSI supports cooperation between U.S. and China.
Press Release Summary:
On April 18, ANSI and Certification and Accreditation Administration of People's Republic of China came together to sign Memorandum of Understanding, making formal commitment to cooperation in conformity assessment activities. Agreement recognizes important role that conformity assessment activities play in safeguarding consumer health and safety, protecting environment, and ensuring fair trade, economic growth, and innovation.
Original Press Release:
ANSI President Signs MOU in Support of Greater U.S.-Sino Conformity Assessment Cooperation
S. Joe Bhatia, president and chief executive officer of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), traveled to Beijing last week to demonstrate support for greater cooperation between the United States and China in the areas of standardization and conformity assessment.
On Friday, April 18, ANSI and the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA) came together to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), making a formal commitment to cooperation in conformity assessment activities.
Building upon existing working relationships between the U.S. and Chinese standardization communities, this agreement recognizes the important role that conformity assessment activities play in safeguarding consumer health and safety, protecting the environment, and ensuring fair trade, economic growth and innovation.
"Over the last several years, U.S.-China trade figures have told a story of growth and transformation, but last year's product quality and safety incidents have called into question the stability of the global supply chain," said Mr. Bhatia. "Renewing confidence in the minds of buyers that products comply with all the standards, rules and regulations that exist for the receiving market is a real and significant challenge."
"There could be no better time for this new partnership between ANSI and CNCA to be formalized," Bhatia continued.
Xie Jun, CNCA deputy administrator, agreed with Mr. Bhatia, describing the cooperation between ANSI and CNCA as finding "the right partner."
A key component of Friday's MOU signing is the pledge to incorporate Chinese conformity assessment content to the Standards Portal, a unique information resource launched in 2006 to provide standards, technical regulations, and trade-related information for the U.S. and China.
"By focusing this MOU on the exchange of information, we are making a commitment to empower business leaders, policy makers and consumers with the conformity assessment information resources they need," Bhatia explained.
For more information about ANSI's China program, please contact Ms. Elise Owen (eowen@ansi.org; 202.331.3624).
