The joint seminar organised by the Inspection and Quarantine Technology Center (IQTC) and Chementors in Guangzhou on 30 June 2017 was visited by over 250 participants from a number of sectors interested in the European chemical market, including the toy and cosmetics industries.

The negotiations between the IQTC and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) held just before the seminar aimed at creating a new relationship for chemical safety cooperation between China and Europe. Relations between Europe and China in regard to chemical safety have been on the decline in recent years, one example of which is the fact that in 2013 China stopped translating ECHA’s materials into Chinese. As such, one of the highlights of the seminar was the Chinese translation of the ECHA brochure ”Exporting to EU”, prepared by Chementors, which will be made available for download on the IQTC’s website for the benefit of local SMEs.

Another highlight of the seminar was the active participation of Liu Xia, vice director of the China National Institute of Standardization, which operates under AQSIQ (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China). AQSIQ is China’s official body in charge of quality, food safety and product safety matters. ECHA, IQTC and Chementors all hope that the seminar will spur the European Commission and corresponding administrative bodies in China, such as AQSIQ, to increase their dialogue in matters related to chemical safety.

Thanks to the information content of the seminar and all the resulting discussion, ECHA’s first visit to Guangzhou will most likely not be its last. With the REACH registration deadline of 31 May 2018 fast approaching (for substances imported to the EU in amounts exceeding 1 tonne), now is the time to make quick decisions. Although the registration process is time-consuming, the most flexible operators, such as Chementors and the IQTC, can together help Chinese suppliers of goods and chemicals complete the process in time before the critical deadline.

The seminar featured a number of respected speakers. Pictured from the left: Chonghua Liu, Yonghan Huang, Qian Xiao, Geert Dancet, Petteri Mäkelä, Jani Määttä, Huaining Zhong, Ruyan Liao and Jing Wang. Not pictured: Liu Xia from AQSIQ.

The seminar was held at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center. Pictured from the left: Petteri Mäkelä, Geert Dancet, Jani Määttä and Qian Xiao.

The seminar also gave visitors the opportunity to ask plenty of questions. Participants reported being very pleased with the seminar.