Laws of the People's Republic of China

    In order to implement conscientiously the spirit of the Party's Fifteenth National Congress and the Decision of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Concerning Several Vital Problems on State-owned Enterprise Reform and Development adopted by the Fourth Plenary Session of the Fifteenth Central Committee, enforce fully the Law of the People's Republic of China on Product Quality and the Guidelines on Quality Enhancement (the year 1996 - 2010), improve the general level of product quality of our country, and promote the national economy's continuous, rapid and healthy development, this Decision concerning several issues on further strengthening product quality work is hereby made as follows:

    I. Fully Understanding the Importance of Strengthening Product Quality Work

    1.Strengthening product quality work is of vital significance to the prosperity of our economy. At present, our economy has come to a new stage ?of development, that is, for main commodities, the market has changed from favoring the seller to favoring the buyer, we are facing a critical period ?of economic structure adjustment, and the quality work is just the main fighting direction. Improving product quality is not only the key to meet market demand, increase exportation and enhance the quality and result of economic operation, but also the inevitable requirement for realizing the cross-century grand targets and strengthening the integrated viability of our country and the international competitiveness. No quality no profits. Letting forgery, falsehood and poor quality alone dooms no hope of the country. Since the reform and opening up to the outside world, especially in recent years, the quality management work in our country has been strengthened, the general quality of product has improved substantially, and the quality of partial products has reached or approached to the international advanced level. However, the present condition of our product quality, compared with the demand of economy development and the international advanced level, remains lagging far behind. Many products are lower in grade, quality or sample certified rate, feint or poor commodities are seen even after continuous suppression, the condition of hardness for high quality products to succeed and non-washout of poor quality products is considerably common, and grave quality accidents occur from time to time, affecting the healthy development of economy and the improvement of the people's quality of life. All regions, departments and enterprises shall proceed from the overall situation of reform and development, recognize fully the importance and urgency of strengthening quality work, enhance their senses of mission and responsibility in well doing quality wor
k and improving product quality, establish firmly the notion of "quality first" and "success by quality", grab the vantage opportunity of present international and domestic economic structure adjustment and industry upgrade, further strengthen product quality work, strike hard illegal or criminal acts of manufacturing and selling feint or poor products (hereinafter referred to as "fake making and selling"), and boost the general level of our product quality up to a new stage.

    II. Enterprises should be orientated to the market and strengthen quality work

    2. Orientated by the market and accelerating product innovation and replacement. Enterprises shall face the market, aim to meet the needs of users and consumers, establish a technical innovation system, speed the combination of production, study and research, promote the transformation ?of scientific and technological achievements into real productivity, by strengthening technical transformation and accelerating technical progress, have a real grasp of a number of key technologies for important products, develop vigorously a number of new products adapted to the need ?of the domestic or international market, and enhance comprehensively the product grade and quality level.

    3. Formulating practical and feasible quality development targets. Large enterprises and enterprise groups shall aim at the world advanced level, adopt actively international standards and foreign advanced standards, create a number of high-quality, high-grade and well-known products, and increase the market share rate. Medium- and small-sized enterprises shall, on the basis of their own characteristics and market demand, formulate quality work targets and measures for improvement, strengthen technical basic work, and increase the market competitiveness ?of their products.

    4. Establishing a complete quality control system. The quality of products is the life of an enterprise. The manager (factory director) of an enterprise is the first person responsible for quality work. An enterprise shall establish an effective quality control system covering the full operation of process from product design to after-sale services, execute strictly standards, emphasize metrological inspection, strengthen process discipline, and do well in the quality management over all employees and the full process. Enterprises shall be managed strictly, carry out seriously a quality veto system, accomplish innovation in management, resolve actually the problem that the management systems of some enterprises exist in name only, and ensure that poor products shall not leave the factory.

    5. Comprehensively popularizing State standards of after-sale service quality. An enterprise shall regard after-sale services as an important vehicle to increase the market competitiveness of its products, standardize the services system, strengthen after-sale service forces, establish and complete service networks, execute faithfully the service commitments made to customers, and achieve standardization of after-sale services.

    III. Strengthening basic work and promoting the improvement of product quality

    6. Establishing and completing scientific and advanced product quality standards. It is imperative to trail closely the international standards and foreign advanced standards, and amend our State standards promptly. Industrial enterprises must organize their productions in accordance with standards, and those productions without standards or not conforming to standards are strictly prohibited. All enterprises manufacturing products involving human physical health and the safety of person or property must execute strictly the compulsory State standards. It is imperative to direct enterprises to adopt international standards or foreign advanced standards, and encourage enterprises to formulate enterprise internal control standards that are competitive and higher than the current State standards. The quality level of common industrial products manufactured by using imported equipment or foreign investment shall not be lower than international standards or foreign advanced standards, otherwise, import ?of such equipment is not permitted and examination and approval of such project is prohibited.

    7. Strengthening construction of a metrological inspection system. It is imperative to enhance continuously international equal effectiveness of metrological bases and standards, complete metrological inspection means, standardize regular inspection of metrological instruments, and fulfilling the functions of metrology in improving quality, decreasing consumption and increasing profits. It is imperative to give more support to the research in the means and methods of metrological inspection to provide necessary guaranty in metrological inspection for the industrialization of high and new technology.

    8. Executing complete quality management well. It is imperative to continue engaging in activities of executing complete quality management, quality improvement and reducing wastes and damages, spread and execute carefully the series of State standards in quality management and quality control, and promote quality authentication work actively. It is imperative to take for reference the scientific quality management methods ?of foreign enterprises and popularize "zero defect" and reliability management to improve the quality management level of enterprises. We shall continuously generalize and popularize advanced experience in quality management, and reward quality advanced enterprises and individuals.

    9. Carefully conducting training and education on quality. The competent quality department shall strengthen training of enterprise managers about knowledge in quality management and quality laws and regulations. An enterprise shall strengthen education in quality knowledge among its employees, and conduct labor skill training actively. Educational institutions shall attach great importance to education in the sense of quality among students, and relevant institutions shall set quality management courses, to conduct quality education and training in different levels.

    10. Enhancing the capacity of enterprises for technical innovation and product replacement and upgrading. All regions and departments shall, aiming at increasing variety, enhancing quality, improving profits and expanding exportation, take effective measures, increase input, reform outdated equipment, complete technical guarantee means, and direct and promote enterprises to adopt new technologies, develop new products and improve the quality levels of existing products. Meanwhile, the process equipment or product that lags in technology, wastes resources, is poor in quality or pollutes heavily must be washed out firmly.

    IV. Observing rules of market economy and actually strengthening quality supervision.

    11. Enforcing quality supervision system of important products. For products involving human physical health and the safety of person and property, the quality and technical supervision department shall strengthen supervision and management by strictly executing the production license system and safety authentication system for product quality and trying business commencing inspection. Any enterprise without basic production conditions and unable to guarantee the production of qualified products shall be uniformly prohibited from commencing production. All commodities on the market shall carry a standardized quality mark. Commercial enterprises shall strictly execute an inspection and acceptance system in goods procurement, and carefully execute an antecedent responsibility system of commodity quality. It is imperative to strengthen quality supervision and inspection of commodities on various special commodity markets, and for those interfering with supervision and inspection, strict investigation and punishment shall be given and liabilities of the parties concerned shall be pursued. Any product not conforming to relevant State standards in quality or produced without a license is prohibited from being listed in the catalogue of governmental procurement.

    12. Establishing a fair competition mechanism consistent with requirements of market economy. It is imperative to firmly stop market division by using reporting for inspection, sales permits, use permits, roadblocks and other means, and firmly eliminate various kinds of false publicity and activities of cheating in quality, to guarantee fair competition and accomplish "success for the superior and washout of the poor". Except expressly provided by the State, it is strictly prohibited that any region, department, social group, news unit, enterprise, institution or non-governmental organization conducts general appraisals ?of enterprises' products, services and etc., as well as enterprise or commodity information disclosure activities with character of order placing, appraisal or recommendation. We shall study and explore appraising methods for indexes of user satisfaction degrees in product quality, and provide consumers with true and reliable product quality information.

    13. Strengthening management and supervision of quality intermediaries. In accordance with principles of objectiveness, truthfulness and justice, we shall unify the requirements for qualification assessment, clarify responsibilities and duties, standardize the activities of intermediaries, and ensure their justice. Existing various quality intermediaries, especially the quality authentication organizations shall be cleaned up carefully, and for those engaging in fraud, strict investigation and punishment shall be given according to law; if the circumstances are serious, qualification shall be cancelled; if the criminal law is violated, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law. Various quality intermediaries shall establish self-regulatory operating mechanisms, and assume corresponding liability according to law.

    V. Strengthening supervision and selective inspection and increasing the momentum of punishment

    14. Completing the supervision and selective inspection system of product quality. The State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision shall focus supervision and selective inspection on products involving human physical health and the safety of person and property, important products relating to the national economy and the people's livelihood and products causing strong sentiments from the consumers, publicize a catalogue of products under supervision and selective inspection, and organize promptly trailing supervision and selective inspection of product quality in production and circulation areas. The frequency of selective inspection shall be increased appropriately, and the findings of selective inspection shall be disclosed.

    15. Increasing the momentum of punishment. The quality and technical supervision department shall promptly publicize the unqualified products in supervision and selective inspection and the production enterprises thereof, report the same to the local government and relevant departments, and order the production enterprises to make rectification within a given period; for those products which have obtained production licenses and safety authentication, shall suspend such certificates; if they remain unqualified in re-inspection upon the expiry of the given period for rectification, shall, jointly with relevant departments, order cessation ?of production for consolidation, and cancel the production licenses and safety authentication certificates. If in State supervision and selective inspection the main products of an enterprise are unqualified twice consecutively, the quality and technical supervision department shall propose to the administrative department of industry and commerce for canceling the business licenses of the enterprises, publicize the name list of the enterprises and principal responsible persons, and remove such legal representatives or responsible persons from office according to legal procedures who shall not be appointed again as a legal representative by any enterprise within three years as from his removal from office. For enterprises refusing supervision and selective inspection, their products shall be treated as unqualified, and forceful supervision and selective inspection shall be executed with all necessary expenses assumed by the enterprises refusing inspection.

    16. Implementing an inspection exemption system. Products with stable quality for a long time, with a high market share rate or with the enterprises up to or stricter than relevant State standards, or products qualified in three consecutive selective inspections conducted by the quality and technical supervision department of the State, a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the Central Government, may be determined as products exempted from inspection. The catalogue of the products exempted from inspection shall be formulated by the quality and technical supervision department at or above the provincial level, and be publicized regularly. These products shall carry inspection-exempted marks, and be exempted from various forms of regional or departmental inspections within a certain period of time. Once quality problems occur to any such product exempted from inspection, the qualification of exemption shall be cancelled, and stricter punishment shall be imposed according to law.

    VI. Highlighting key points and striking hard illegal or criminal acts ?of fake making and selling.

    17. Clarifying the responsibilities of work in striking illegal or criminal acts of fake making and selling (hereinafter referred to as ?"striking fakes"). The State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision shall, jointly with relevant departments, aiming at key products, key markets and key regions with serious illegal or criminal acts of fake making and selling, propose the general requirements for the work of striking fakes nationwide, organize and conduct specific combats and joint actions for striking fakes, investigate and punish a number of big or serious cases according to law, and firmly curtail the rampant trend in fake making and selling. The people's government of a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the Central Government shall actually assume the responsibilities for the work of striking fakes within its own administrative domain, and formulate concrete plans for the work of striking fakes in light of local actual conditions and organize the execution thereof. The superior government shall supervise and inspect the work of striking fakes of its inferior government, and for those lacking power in striking fakes and failing to reach the target of rectification within a given period, liabilities of local administrative ?officials in charge shall be pursued; for those resulting in significant losses or a bad effect, administrative punishments shall be imposed; and for those violating the criminal law, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.

    18. Striking, according to law, illegal acts of fake making and selling. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Product Quality, every case of fake making and selling, once found, shall be investigated and punished completely; false and poor products, once found, shall be sealed up, seized without exception and confiscated, and shall not enter the market; any unit or individual that provides premises, equipment, warehousing, transportation, material, capital or other means or conditions for fake making and selling, shall be punished strictly according to law; any dealer or business user that willfully procures or uses in his business operations false or poor products, shall be punished as fake making and selling. Business licenses, production licenses and operation licenses of relevant manufacturers or dealers shall be revoked if their acts of fake making and selling are found through investigation; a manager (factory director) having committed the act of fake making and selling or a person directly responsible shall be prohibited without exception from registering in his name any new enterprise; if anyone violates the criminal law, he shall be referred to the judicial organs to pursue criminal liability according to law. Effective measures shall be taken to strictly clean up the market of false and poor products surviving from continuous suppression; used materials or equipment that endangers the human physical health or the safety of person and property shall be strictly prohibited from being in use again. Officials enforcing administrative law on quality and technical supervision shall strictly discharge their administrative functions according to law, and for misfeasance of them, serious disposition shall be done.

    19. Insisting on "striking fakes, protecting well-known and high quality products". We shall strengthen the management of insignias on products, and increase the momentum of striking the illegal act of falsifying well-known and high-quality products of enterprises. Enterprises shall fight against counterfeiting and tortious acts by legal means, and claim economic compensations against fake makers and sellers according to law. Each region may formulate rewarding methods for striking fakes, give a high reward to the unit or individual who has made contributions to the exposure of fake making and selling, and take effective measures to protect the informers. We shall popularize the activity of establishing "a heart rest street", and ensure that no illegal act in quality, metrology, trademark, insignia or other aspects occurs to the products sold within such "heart rest street" area.

    VII. Fulfilling the publicity function of the mass media and improving the sense of quality of the whole nation.

    20. Television, radio, newspapers, periodicals, network and other media shall pay great attention to publicity with respect to the quality work, and, by various popular and colorful manners, direct the entire society to think much of quality and support quality work. Major effects shall be devoted to popularizing advanced experience in quality management and units and individuals making contributions to quality enhancement, introducing relevant quality knowledge, answering questions on quality put forward by consumers, in order to form a sound social environment for ?"everyone responsible for quality enhancement" and "everyone hating false and poor products", and improve the sense of quality of the whole nation.

    21. The main State and provincial news media, especially television stations, shall publicize regularly the findings of supervision and selective inspection of product quality by means of column or special topic; shall firmly expose the units and individuals making or selling fake products, and unqualified products in supervision and selective inspection involving human physical health and the safety of person and property, materially relating to the national economy and the people's livelihood or causing strong sentiments from consumers, and the production enterprises and responsible persons thereof, forming an environment for strong and powerful media supervision.

    22. All regions, relevant departments and relevant social groups shall continue well organizing and developing such activities as "quality month", "quality ten thousand miles", "3. 15", "no fake in ten thousand stores of one hundred cities" and "if I am the consumer", and mobilize the entire society to make contributions to quality enhancement.

    VIII. Strengthening leadership and emphasizing actual implementation.

    23. The local people's governments at all levels shall include the improvement of product quality in the plans for national economy and social development within their own administrative domains, include quality work and the work of striking fakes in their agendas, strengthen leadership over the work of quality and technical supervision, actually guarantee necessary investments and funds for quality standards construction, metrological inspection systems and supervision and selective inspection of quality, and regularly study and promptly resolve the problems in improving product quality and striking fakes. If serious fake making and selling problems or occurrence of serious quality accidents result from powerless leadership or supervision in quality work, liabilities shall be pursued of the relevant persons in charge and persons responsible according to law.

    24. The relevant departments of the State Council shall regard the improvement of product quality as an important work task, and carefully implement it by formulating relevant policies and concrete measures; shall strictly discharge their duties, and do well in administrative law enforcement and supervision of products as required by the State. The State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision shall actually discharge its duties in uniform management and organization and coordination of standardization, metrology and quality work, carefully do well in comprehensive management, administrative law enforcement and other work, strengthen the construction of law enforcement teams, formulate and complete rules of law enforcement officials, the fault liability system, training and examination system, reward and punishment system and etc., and ensure that law must be observed, law enforcement must be strict and illegal acts must be pursued.

    25. The quality and technical supervision departments at all levels shall regularly report to the people's governments at the corresponding levels and superior competent departments the state of affairs of quality and striking fakes in their respective regions, and the local people's governments at all levels and the relevant departments of the State Council shall actively support the quality and technical supervision departments in completing the reform of administrative systems, in order to fulfilling the functions of the quality and technical supervision departments in the aspects of comprehensive management for quality work, administrative law enforcement, maintaining the market order and improving product quality.

    Improving product quality is a long-lasting and arduous task, and all regions and departments must actually strengthen leadership and emphasize actual implementation. The State Council mandates the State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision jointly with the Ministry of Supervision and other relevant departments to supervise and inspect the implementation ?of this Decision and report the same to the State Council annually.