China National Institute of Standardization Holds Seminar on ‘The Role and Practice of International Standards for Compliance Management Systems in Promoting Sustainable Development of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the APEC Region’ | China Trade News

Summary

On September 7–8, the seminar The Role and Practice of International Standards for Compliance Management Systems in Promoting the Sustainable Development of MSMEs in the APEC Region, hosted by the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS), was held in Beijing. The meeting was supported by APEC and a project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More than 100 expert representatives from APEC economies such as China, Peru, Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, as well as countries and regions including the European Union, attended online and offline, and the live webcast received more than 130,000 cumulative views.

Guo Chenguang, Deputy Director-General of the Standards Innovation Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation; Cheng Duofu, Deputy Director-General of the SME Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Wang Kun, Party Secretary and President of CNIS, attended and delivered speeches. The meeting was chaired by Li Zhiping, Vice President of CNIS. During the meeting, CNIS introduced its international standardization achievements in compliance management and launched an intelligent system for conformity diagnosis and effectiveness evaluation of compliance management systems; researchers from the Institute of Policies, Regulations and Planning released the Research Report on Compliance Management Practices and International Standard Application of MSMEs in the APEC Region.

The survey covered 8 APEC economies and collected 355 valid questionnaires. The results showed that 90% of respondents recognized the role of international standards for compliance management systems, but content applicability, implementation guidance, and implementation costs remained the main factors affecting standard application. The meeting focused on topics such as international standards for compliance management, compliance opportunities and challenges for MSMEs, supply chain and labor and employment compliance, and

Commentary

The seminar held by the China National Institute of Standardization focused on the application of international standards for compliance management systems among APEC MSMEs. The released survey covered 8 economies and 355 questionnaires; 90% of respondents recognized the value of the standards, but content applicability, practical implementation guidance, and implementation costs became the main obstacles. This finding aligns closely with the situation of New Zealand SMEs: about 97% of New Zealand enterprises are SMEs, most rely on exports, especially primary products such as dairy, meat, and timber, and are sensitive to international market compliance requirements.

As an APEC member, New Zealand has an upgraded free trade agreement with China, and many SMEs do business in China or participate in regional supply chains. If international compliance standards (such as ISO 37301) can be implemented, they can help reduce compliance friction in trade, for example by providing a unified framework for labor employment and supply chain due diligence, avoiding duplicate audits caused by inconsistent standards. However, New Zealand SMEs are generally small and have limited compliance budgets, making the implementation cost issue mentioned in the survey particularly prominent: local consulting and certification fees may reach tens of thousands of New Zealand dollars, and the standard clauses are weighted toward large-enterprise processes, making it difficult for small agricultural cooperatives or exporters to directly apply them.

Another perspective is that New Zealand already has relatively high domestic standards in food safety, animal welfare, and sustainable development, but cross-economy mutual recognition of compliance is insufficient, meaning SMEs still need to repeatedly prove compliance when entering Chinese or Southeast Asian markets. This seminar revealed that China is promoting the internationalization of compliance standards and developing an intelligent diagnosti

Keywords: International Standard for Compliance Management Systems, APEC, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS), Sustainable Development, Research Report, Beijing Seminar, Standardization, Compliance Management, APEC Project

Summary in Chinese | 摘要

9月7日至8日，由中国标准化研究院主办的“合规管理体系国际标准在促进APEC地区中小微企业可持续发展中的作用与实践”研讨会在北京举行。会议得到APEC和外交部项目支持，来自中国、秘鲁、智利、印度尼西亚、菲律宾、泰国、新加坡等APEC经济体以及欧盟等国家和地区的百余位专家代表以线上和线下方式参会，会议网络直播累计点击量超13万。国家市场监督管理总局标准创新司副司长郭晨光、工业和信息化部中小企业局副局长程多福、标准院党委书记、院长王昆出席会议并致辞，会议由标准院副院长李治平主持。

会议期间，标准院介绍合规管理国际标准化成果，发布合规管理体系符合性诊断和有效性评价智能系统；政策法规和规划研究所研究人员发布《关于APEC地区中小微企业合规管理实践及国际标准应用情况调研报告》。调研覆盖8个APEC经济体，共回收355份有效问卷，结果显示90%受访主体认可合规管理体系国际标准的作用，但内容适用性、落地指引和实施成本仍然是影响标准应用的主要因素。会议聚焦合规管理国际标准、中小微企业合规机遇与挑战、供应链与劳动用工合规、国际贸易合规等议题，邀请来自联合国开发计划署、国际标准化组织机构治理技术委员会、APEC标准和合格评定分委员会、秘鲁国家质量研究院、印度尼西亚国家标准化局、智利中小微企业及合作社行业联合会、英国标准化协会、欧盟中小企业中心等国际组织和境外机构，以及深圳市司法局、海口江东新区管理局、清华大学、南开大学、对外经济贸易大学等30余位代表进行主旨演讲和交流讨论。

标准院表示，本次研讨会是APEC项目的重要里程碑活动，也是我国以标准化手段助力APEC区域中小微企业可持续发展的重要实践，将进一步发挥标准化优势，为APEC区域中小微企业提升合规管理能力、实现更高水平可持续发展贡献力量。

Commentary in Chinese | 评论

中国标准化研究院举办的这场研讨会聚焦合规管理体系国际标准在APEC中小微企业中的应用，发布的调研覆盖8个经济体、355份问卷，九成受访者认可标准价值，但内容适用性、落地指引和实施成本成为主要障碍。这一发现与新西兰中小企业现状高度吻合：新西兰约97%的企业为中小企业，多数依赖出口，尤其是乳制品、肉类和木材等初级产品，对国际市场合规要求敏感。新西兰作为APEC成员，与中国签有升级版自贸协定，许多中小企业在华开展业务或参与区域供应链。

国际合规标准（如ISO 37301）若能落地，有助于降低贸易中的合规摩擦，例如在劳动用工、供应链尽责管理方面获得统一框架，避免因标准不一导致的重复审核。然而，新西兰中小企业普遍规模小、合规预算有限，调研中提到的实施成本问题尤为突出——本地咨询和认证费用可能高达数万纽币，且标准条款偏重大企业流程，小微农业合作社或出口商很难直接套用。另一视角是，新西兰在食品安全、动物福利和可持续发展方面已有较高国内标准，但跨经济体合规互认不足，导致中小企业在进入中国或东南亚市场时仍需重复证明。

此次研讨会透露中国正推动合规标准国际化并开发智能诊断系统，若新西兰标准机构或行业协会能参与互认谈判，中小企业可借此降低进入APEC市场的合规门槛。建议新西兰中小企业主关注新西兰标准局（Standards NZ）及贸发局后续动向，评估是否参与APEC项目试点，同时利用政府现有的区域商业伙伴网络获取低成本合规工具。会议网络直播点击量超13万，显示区域企业对合规议题的关注热度，但真正落地仍取决于各国政府是否将标准转化为简化通关和监管互认的具体措施，而非停留在研讨层面。

关键词: 合规管理体系国际标准, APEC, 中小微企业, 中国标准化研究院, 可持续发展, 调研报告, 北京研讨会, 标准化, 合规管理, APEC项目

Source: China Trade News