China considers upgrading RoHS to mandatory national standard 
On June 16, 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a plan to develop a mandatory national standard that sets limits on the concentrations of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products, along with other 13 mandatory standards. The ministry is accepting comments on the plan through July 16, 2023. The plan shows the required development time periods, background, scopes and main technical details of the standards.
The planned standard for hazardous substance concentration limits for electrical and electronic products would combine two existing standards called the Requirements of Concentration Limits for Certain Restricted Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (GB/T 26572-2011) and Marking for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Product (SJ/T 11364-2014), respectively. As such, the standard would set out rules for both concentration limits and concentration limit labeling for hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products.
Background
Although the above-mentioned GB/T 26572-2011 and SJ/T 11364-2014 standards are recommended standards, they are cited in the Measures on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products1 and legally binding in practice. However, market regulation activities, customs inspections and industry surveys have revealed that because these are recommended standards, many manufacturers and importers do not think they must comply with these standards.
To rigorously enforce the Measures on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products, and provide an effective legal basis for government departments for market regulations, customs, etc., it is increasingly important to develop a mandatory national standard that sets hazardous substance concentration limits for electrical and electronic products.
Scope of the planned standard
The standard would apply to electrical and electronic products sold in China, including telecommunications equipment, electrical and electronic equipment for home use and industrial use, power tools, medical electronic equipment and machinery, and lights.
It would include labeling requirements for these products, maximum allowable concentrations for hazardous substances in the electrical and electronic products listed in the Electrical and Electronic Product Hazardous Substance Restriction Standards Attainment Management List2, and conformity determination rules for electrical and electronic products.
Schedule
According to the development schedule for the standard, it would take 22 months to develop it. The drafters would include the China Electronics Standardization Institute, Hisense Visual Technology Co., Ltd. and the China Household Electric Appliance Research Institute.
The ministry’s announcement of the plan (in Chinese) is available at
https://www.miit.gov.cn/gzcy/yjzj/art/2023/art_6c972676fbd849f99b7bb7c906e19e69.html.
1 电器电子产品有害物质限制使用管理办法
2 电器电子产品有害物质限制使用达标管理目录
