Once upon a time, the Chinese automotive industry humbly learned advanced technology and management experience from developed automotive countries, as well as their standard systems. Nowadays, with the continuous growth of China's automotive industry and the increasing international influence, Chinese automotive standards are gradually going global. Recently, while attending an industry conference, the reporter noticed that with the increasing number of Chinese car exports overseas, more and more Chinese car standards are being applied overseas. "China's automobile standard system has shifted from learning from Europe and the United States to independent development. For example, our national six standards are quite different from European six standards, and we have established our own basic standard system, that is, the Chinese working condition. Countries and regions jointly built along the the Belt and Road are the main markets for China's automobile product exports, and China's automobile standard system is going overseas along the the Belt and Road with product exports." Liu Guibin, senior technical director of the Standards Institute of China Automotive Technology Research Center Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Automotive Center"), told reporters.
　　Product first standard followed by
　　There is a common rule in the global automotive industry that products come first, followed by standards. The same applies to Chinese automotive standards when they enter overseas markets, where products come first and standards come later, "said Liu Guibin. According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2017, China's automobile exports exceeded one million units, reaching 1.04 million vehicles. After 2020, China's automobile exports have grown rapidly, with growth rates of 86.23%, 68.73%, and 53.53% from 2021 to 2023, respectively. In 2023, 5.22 million vehicles were exported, setting a new record for automobile exports. As the number of Chinese automotive products exported overseas gradually increases, Chinese automotive standards have also entered the local market, "said Liu Guibin.

However, although passenger cars account for a large proportion of China's automobile export products, it is buses that have taken the lead in exporting Chinese automobile standards overseas. Liu Guibin told reporters that buses are labor-intensive products, and with the advantages of scale and cost, Chinese buses have been expanding overseas for many years. Due to the underdeveloped automotive industry in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, it is natural for Chinese buses to enter the local market first. With the increase in the number of Chinese buses exported overseas and the improvement of their reputation, the European and American markets have also begun to accept Chinese buses, and European and American automobile companies have even gradually withdrawn from bus production. The number of bus users in our country is increasing, and standards are gradually being recognized and accepted
The transformation and development of new energy vehicles have created more opportunities for China's automotive standards to go overseas. The overseas expansion of China's new energy vehicle supercapacitor standards also follows the rule of product first and standard later, "Liu Guibin told reporters. Supercapacitors have many advantages, such as fast charging and discharging, high power density, and high safety, but there are also many disadvantages, including low energy density, high cost, self discharge, etc. Developed countries and regions such as Europe and America have hardly been involved in this field, but many Chinese companies are developing supercapacitors and have already applied them to new energy vehicles, "said Liu Guibin, laying the foundation for the standard to" go global ". For example, in Israel, when China's new energy vehicles entered Israel, Israel fully adopted China's new energy vehicle supercapacitor standards. "Israel has not joined the 'the Belt and Road' initiative, but is close to the 'the Belt and Road' partners, which is a case of the spillover of China's automobile standards along the 'the Belt and Road'," said Liu Guibin.
Liu Guibin told reporters, "China's new energy vehicles have emerged as a rising force, and after years of development, they have also gained recognition from more and more overseas consumers. At the same time, the originality of China's new energy vehicle standards has gradually been recognized and accepted by other countries”

Chinese working conditions are gradually moving overseas
　　China's automobile production and sales have ranked first in the world for more than 10 consecutive years, but before 2017, there was no presence of China in the global automobile standard system. Forming independent and controllable standards and having a voice in the international arena is an important task for the establishment of automotive standards in China. Among them, the establishment of Chinese working condition standards and "going global" have become a landmark event
　　Liu Guibin told reporters that previously the global standard system mainly consisted of three categories, including European standards, American standards, and Japanese standards. European standards have the greatest influence and are widely used in countries and regions worldwide, while American and Japanese standards have absolute advantages in their respective fields. In terms of testing condition standards, initially, China adopted the NEDC standard widely used in Europe, but this standard was criticized by many users. Although it later switched to the WLTC standard, it did not completely solve the problem. The Chinese working conditions truly reflect the actual performance of Chinese vehicles in the Chinese road environment, with both fuel consumption and energy consumption approaching the real situation, "said Liu Yu, Chief Expert of the China Automotive Center and Director of the Transportation and Energy Environment Department.
　　Liu Yu told reporters that China has established a national standard system for energy consumption testing and management of new energy vehicles based on Chinese working conditions, which includes a series of standards such as test methods, limits, and labeling, providing accurate testing and inspection standards for government supervision. The working conditions of automobiles are an important common basic technology in the automotive industry, which is the basis for the development of vehicle energy consumption/emission testing methods and limit standards. The official release of the Chinese working conditions marks the establishment of China's independent automobile working conditions standard system, which is listed as one of the world's four major working conditions along with European, American, and Japanese working conditions, realizing the independent controllability of key testing and inspection technologies in China, "said Liu Yu.
　　In addition, as an important member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with the active mediation and unremitting efforts of the competent authorities, three new energy vehicle energy consumption testing methods have been introduced into ISO international standards in China, involving energy consumption and driving range testing for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. On this basis, the Chinese working condition team continues to cooperate with the ISO international standard working group on high and low temperature testing methods for new energy vehicles, multi condition noise testing methods, and development of heavy-duty commercial vehicle working conditions, promoting the internationalization process of China's automotive standards.
　　In addition to introducing international standards, the Chinese team also carried out in-depth discussions with the automotive standards authorities in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and other countries, constantly expanding and deepening the exchanges and cooperation between China and the "the Belt and Road" co construction countries in automotive standards and regulations, access certification, testing technology and other fields, further giving play to the important role of standardization in the development of economic and trade partnerships with surrounding countries, and removing obstacles for China's automobile export "the Belt and Road" co construction countries.
　　A company employee engaged in overseas sales business told reporters that currently, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, the Philippines, Myanmar and other countries all recognize China's automotive standards. Vehicles exported to these countries only need to have Chinese automotive standard certification.
　　Bright prospects, winding road
　　Of course, the path for Chinese automotive standards to go overseas is not an easy one. Liu Guibin told reporters that countries around the world have long accepted the standard systems of Europe, America, and Japan. Specifically, about 80% of the four major global standard systems are similar or interconnected, with only 20% being different. It is difficult to make other countries accept China's automotive standard system. "The move of Chinese auto standards overseas is the result of the combined effect of national strength, progressiveness technology and originality of standards," he said.
　　It is reported that in the process of Chinese automotive standards going overseas, the China Automotive Center Standards Institute has adopted the method of dividing key regions and countries to promote them. Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions have been designated as key areas, which are also places with a relatively large number of automobile exports in China. In key areas, key countries and regions are listed based on the proportion and quantity of China's automobile exports.
　　“There are two difficulties that cannot be ignored in the internationalization of China's automotive standards. Firstly, Chinese is not yet a globally recognized language, and it is not very convenient for them to learn Chinese automotive standards. Secondly, established automotive powers have their own spheres of influence, and they are obstacles to the entry of Chinese automotive standards into various regions, "said Liu Guibin.
　　Liu Yu also talked about the problems encountered by China's "going global" operating conditions. The driving scenarios, usage characteristics, and travel habits of users in different countries and regions vary greatly. In order to enter the foreign automotive market, Chinese automotive companies need to customize the development and calibration of the entire vehicle and core components. However, due to limitations in testing cycles and costs, Chinese automotive companies have extremely limited access to actual user data from abroad, resulting in significant deviations in coverage and representativeness. This has led to customized development and calibration for export vehicle models becoming a "water without a source, a tree without roots".
　　In order to solve the problem, the Chinese working condition team has developed a high-performance data acquisition terminal with independent intellectual property rights, which realizes real-time synchronous high-frequency acquisition of vehicle speed, load capacity, road slope, and CAN bus signals. This achievement also won the Bronze Award at the 2023 Paris International Invention Exhibition.
　　According to Liu Yu, China Automotive Center has established subsidiaries and permanent offices in Germany and Southeast Asia, and is carrying out actual user data collection work in Europe and Southeast Asia. Ultimately, it will establish a basic database of European and Southeast Asian automotive users covering various vehicle types, climate conditions, and geographical landforms, providing important reference for the development of export vehicle models for enterprises.
　　With overseas data, the Chinese working condition team is still further improving the testing system. It is reported that the Chinese working condition team is accelerating the construction of a multi-dimensional testing condition system for automotive users in Europe and Southeast Asia, integrating "laboratory test field actual road" testing conditions. This system aims to reproduce the driving scenarios of foreign users in the laboratory, correlate the usage characteristics of the test field, and plan actual roads that meet their travel habits. The goal is to shorten and reduce the development and calibration cycle and cost of exported vehicle models for Chinese automotive companies, and contribute to their overseas expansion.
　　An overseas salesperson of a certain automobile company told reporters that after the improvement of China's working condition standard system, the next step should be to strive for mutual recognition of standards, which is the most convenient way for Chinese automobile standards to go overseas.