The Private Economy Standard Innovation Conference, co-hosted by All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), State Administration for Market Regulation, and Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, was held in Shanghai on October 26, 2021. The conference aimed to thoroughly study Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech at CPC centenary on July 1 and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, implement Xi’s discourse on standardization work, promote the implementation of the National Standardization Development Outline, focus on standard innovation in the private sector, support business associations to play their roles, guide and serve private enterprises to accelerate high-quality development and achieve greater achievements in the new stage of development.

 
Xu Lejiang, the executive vice chairman of ACFIC, and Tian Shihong, vice minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation and administrator of the Standardization Administration of China, made keynote speeches. Gong Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, delivered a welcome speech, while Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General of International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Shu Yinbiao, president of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Zhao Houlin, Secretary-General of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), made speeches via video. The conference was presided over by Lu Yong, vice chairman of ACFIC.
 
Xu Lejiang first read out State Councilor Wang Yong’s requirements for promoting the standardization work of the private economy. Wang Yong stressed that standards were an important support for economic activities and social development. It will play a positive role in enhancing the creativity and vitality of enterprises and promoting high-quality economic development to deepen standardization work and accelerate the upgrading and iteration of standards as well as transforming the application of standards. Market supervision departments at all levels, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) and the ACIFC should thoroughly implement Chinese President Xi Jinping’s instructions on standardization, earnestly implement the National Standardization Development Outline, fully carry out the standardization strategy, improve the high-level standard system, use standard innovation to promote quality reform, efficiency reform and driving-force reform, and encourage the private sector and market entities to practice the new development philosophy, so as to achieve the improvement of quality and efficiency and the high-quality development. The ACFIC is a member of the Inter-ministerial Joint Conference of the State Council for Coordinating and Promoting Standardization, and its chambers of commerce are the importance force of the construction of social organization standards. They should focus on the development priorities and needs of the private economy, further strengthen the standardization work of chambers of commerce and the private economy, better lead the innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development of the private economy, and contribute to building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and realizing the second Centenary Goal.
 
Xu pointed out that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, China had attached great importance to standardization work. Recently, China has issued an outline to promote standardized development at the national level in its pursuit of high-quality development. The chambers of commerce, enterprises and federations of industry and commerce have much to do with a market-driven standardized development pattern.
 
Xu stressed that we should concentrate on the forefront of science and technology, assist high-tech innovation, make standards “assistants” to high technology, make technology the “hard support” of enterprise development, and win the initiative and the future with standard innovation. We should focus on emerging kinetic energy to drive high-quality development, make standards a “hard constraint” on high-quality development, make quality a new “business card” for high-level standards, and use standard innovation to stimulate impetus and guide development. We should focus on people’s concerns, ensure high-quality living with high standards, and build a better life through standard innovation. We should strengthen connectivity, promote high-level opening-up, make standards a “passport” for participating in international competition and cooperation and a “viaduct” for accelerating the building of a new development paradigm, and promote sustainable development through standard innovation in order to build a better world. In particular, he pointed out that we should support the development of the new economy, speed up the development of social organization standards for the platform economy, sharing economy and digital economy, and consolidate the industrial foundation. Member enterprises should meet standards and raise standards, so as to achieve the innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development of private enterprises.
 
Xu said that standardization was the inevitable choice of the transformation and upgrading of the private economy, and was an important starting point to enter a new stage to serve the “Two Health”. Private enterprises, federations of industry and commerce, and chambers of commerce should thoroughly study Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech on standardization, participate in the implementation of the National Standardization Development Outline, actively strive for the guidance of market supervision developments and standardization organizations, and pay special attention to the implementation of relevant documents of ACFIC and the SAC, actively participate in the relevant activities, strive to integrate the standardized development of the private economy into the overall situation, and contribute the wisdom and strength of the federations of industry and commerce and private enterprises to the standardized development of the country.
 
Gong Zheng pointed out that, Shanghai had been studying and implementing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speeches during his visit to Shanghai and at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Pudong’s development and opening-up. It is urgent for the private sector to step up efforts to promote high-level standard innovation, so as to promote high-quality development, create high-quality life and realize efficient governance. We should better serve the national strategy and continue to promote standard innovation. We should build an international standardization powerhouse, increase the effective supply of high-quality standards, and promote their implementation and application. We should promote coordinated governance of standards, give full play to the role of the Standardization Work Committee of the Private Economy, so as to speed up the formation of an integrated and open environment. We should create a good atmosphere for standard innovation of the private economy, and promote standards in the whole society.
 
Tian Shihong pointed out that the National Standardization Development Outline was a major measure to implement the spirit of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s important instructions on standardization work, and make a comprehensive plan for strengthening standardization work and promoting high-quality development in the new era. The Private Economy Standard Innovation Conference is of great significance to thoroughly implement the Outline and promote the healthy development of the private economy.
 
Tian stressed that we should meet the needs of the development of private enterprises, better use standardized means to promote the quality and efficiency of the private economy so as to achieve its healthy development. We should use standardized means to create a market-oriented and law-based international business environment, promote high-quality of the private sector, stimulate their creativity and vitality, enhance their core competitiveness, and expand the scale of production and operation. Market supervision departments at all levels should further implement the Outline, continue to strengthen collaboration with federations of industry and commerce, serve and guide private economic entities to further enhance their awareness, improve their ability of standardization, cultivate talents, and further promote the private economy standard innovation, so as to make greater contribution to the building of a new development paradigm and the high-quality development.
 
At the conference, the ACFIC and the SAC jointly released the Action Plan for Standardization to Promote the High-quality Development of the Private Economy (2022-2023). The ACFIC issued the Construction Plan of the ACFIC Social Organization Standard System, which introduced the construction principles, basic structure, organizational support, policy support, international cooperation, certification procedures and numbering of the system. China National Institute of Standardization released the list of the first batch of 2021 Private Enterprise Standard Forerunner, and the ACFIC Standardization Work Committee released the list of 2021 Social Organization Standard Forerunner. Li Li, director of Standardization and Industry Department of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Fang Hongbo, chairman of Midea, and Zhu Qingyang, secretary of Shanghai Human Resources Consulting Association, delivered speeches on standardization work. Zhang Xiaogang, former chairman of ISO and director of Standardization Work Committee of ACFIC, and relevant leaders of China National Institute of Standardization and China Association for Standardization made keynote speeches.
 
Zheng Gangmiao, head of United Front Work Department of CPC Shanghai Committee, Chen Tong, vice mayor of Shanghai, and Shou Ziqi, chairman of Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce, attended the conference. Leaders from relevant departments of ACFIC, State Administration for Market Regulation (SAC), provincial federations of industry and commerce, leaders of chambers of commerce directly under the ACFIC, all members of the Standardization Work Committee, and representatives of “forerunners” of enterprise standards, “leading” chambers of commerce of social organization standards and private enterprises attended the conference as well. The conference was held in the main venue and sub-venue online and offline respectively. Provincial federations of industry and commerce and market regulation administrations attended the conference via video, and chambers of commerce and member enterprises attended the conference by scanning codes.