On December 10, 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) publicized the Action Plan on the Improvement of Quality Certification Competence (2024-2030) (hereinafter referred to as “the Action Plan”) and held a press conference to provide further information. Officials from other relevant regulators or associations also participated in the press conference to support the information interpretation to the public. 

In recent years, SAMR has launched a series of policy initiatives aimed at enhancing the credibility and international influence of China's quality certification system. Including the Action Plan, there are 6 documents issued, and the other 5 document include: the Action Plan for Accelerating High-level Opening-up of Certification and Accreditation (2024-2030), issued in September of 2024; the Action Plan for Strengthening Enterprises, Chains and Counties through Quality Certification Services (2024-2026), issued in September of 2024; the Action Plan for Building the Credibility of the Quality Certification Industry (2024-2026), issued in November of 2024; the Action Plan for the Promotion and Popularization of Quality Certification, issued in November of 2024; the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Digital Development of Quality Certification, issued in September of 2025. These concerted efforts intend to address three core issues identified in the current system: insufficient sector credibility, weak support for high-quality economic development, and a lack of international influence.

For the Action Plan, it puts forward the goals in three steps:

·    By the end of 2026, a comprehensive lifecycle traceability system for certifications is to be established.

·    By the end of 2028, the system should be more demand-oriented with authoritative results, featuring reduced homogeneous competition.

·    The final goal by 2030 is to effectively resolve the aforementioned three systemic issues. The Plan's core requirements are primarily directed at two central actors in the certification ecosystem: certification bodies and personnel.

It also outlines requirements and development tasks for certification bodies and personnel:

·    Certification bodies are assigned enhanced responsibilities across compliance and innovation. They must strengthen internal governance, process control, and accountability for certification outcomes. Concurrently, they are urged to boost innovation, integrated service capability, and branding. Key tasks include developing new certification models based on modern quality theories, facilitating mutual recognition of results within industrial chains, and actively engaging in international cooperation. Digitization is a major focus, with encouragement to integrate technologies like AI, blockchain, and big data into new certification models.

·         For certification personnel, the Action Plan calls for reforms targeting individual professionals. A differentiated personnel competence review system will be implemented, accompanied by stricter accountability for certification results. There is a strong emphasis on continuous professional development, including the creation of new knowledge systems for innovative certification fields. Efforts to promote international mutual recognition of professional talents and to establish cross-sector expert mechanisms are highlighted. Furthermore, international training programs aim to build a pool of global experts, systematically improving the quality and impact of talent development.

The corresponding parties that shall ensure and support the implementation of the Action Plan are assigned as: overall implementation will be led by SAMR, with support from the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) on accreditation systems, the Certification Research Center of SAMR on theoretical research, and the China Certification & Accreditation Association (CCAA) on personnel management affairs.

For foreign stakeholders, such measures may not initiate direct impact for manufacturers or importers, but the optimization of management system on certification bodies and the improvement of competence for both certification bodies and their personnel, may benefit certification clients in the long run.