Certification, accreditation, testing and inspection are internationally accepted quality management tools and trade facilitation instruments, and an important part of a country's national quality infrastructure. Their essential attribute is "conveying trust, serving development". Market-oriented and international by nature, they are described as the "medical certificate" of quality management, the "letter of credit" of the market economy and the "passport" of international trade.

For consumers, they work on both sides of the market. On the supply side they hold the "bottom line" and raise the "high line": tightening market access, guiding enterprises to strengthen quality management and improving the quality of products and services. On the demand side they provide consumers with evidence of quality, guide purchasing decisions, strengthen consumer confidence and better protect consumer rights.

By the end of 2021, China had issued 3.02 million product, management system and service certificates covering 870,000 enterprises and organisations — including 1.391 million product certificates (compulsory product certification, voluntary industrial product certification and food & agricultural product certification), 1.576 million management system certificates and 53,000 service certificates. China ranks first in the world in both the number of certificates issued and the number of certified organisations.

Safeguarding the safety "bottom line"

China applies compulsory product certification (CCC) to 103 products in 17 categories involving safety, health and environmental protection — household appliances, mobile phones, automobiles, toys and building materials among them — with 455,000 valid CCC certificates issued, protecting consumers from product safety hazards. In response to mobile applications (apps) illegally collecting and using personal information, App security certification has been introduced: 56 certificates have been issued across 19 fields including online shopping and map navigation, covering widely used apps such as Alipay, UnionPay Cloud QuickPass, Baidu Maps and Suning.com, guiding consumers towards safer products. Data security management certification pilots in the finance, transport and e-commerce sectors strengthen the protection of personal information and important data.

Raising the quality "high line"

To keep pace with high-end, smart, digital and green consumption, high-end quality certification for organic products, green products and smart appliances — together with service certification for after-sales service, elderly care, health and finance — is being promoted across food and agricultural products, consumer goods and lifestyle services, raising the quality of products and services and creating a reassuring consumption environment. Nationwide, 15,000 enterprises hold more than 24,000 organic product certificates, with annual organic product sales exceeding RMB 80 billion. A unified green product certification now covers nearly 90 product types including building materials, express packaging and electrical and electronic products, with more than 180,000 green product certificates issued to over 20,000 enterprises.