Newswise — The Consortium for Standards and Conformity Assessment (CSCA) announced the official opening of its office in Beijing, China. The CSCA office will play an important role in U.S.-China dialogue on standards-related matters.
The consortium, which includes ASME as the lead organization, the American Petroleum Institute (API), ASTM International and CSA America, will develop relationships with peer agencies in China, monitor standards development and promote acceptance of members' standards and conformity assessment systems. The consortium will enable U.S.-based international standards developers, like ASME, to establish a continuous presence in Beijing to advance greater understanding and use of CSCA international standards within the framework of World Trade Organization technical barriers to trade agreement principles.
"ASME's goal in supporting the CSCA Beijing office is to further strengthen international standards and enhance partnerships between ASME standards programs and technical experts in Chinese industry and government agencies," said ASME President-Elect Richard "Gene" Feigel. "Together we can bring the same tangible benefits to Chinese engineers and industries that ASME has brought to the United States and other areas of the world for 125 years."
Last October, the CSCA, as a private-sector organization, was presented with a three-year, $399,500 award from the U.S. Department of Commerce to help establish the Beijing office operation.
The primary aim of the consortium is to advocate the use of U.S. technical standards in China as well as promote the development of Chinese standards programs that are compatible with programs in North America. "As China seeks to make its own standards relevant and responsive to the global market, CSCA's presence will be a great resource in providing first hand knowledge of how an open, transparent standards system works," said Clark T. Randt Jr., U.S. ambassador to China, during the opening ceremony of the CSCA Beijing office.
Chris R. Lanzit, who has recently served as regional director, Asia, Integrated Defense Systems, for the Hong Kong office of the Boeing Company, has been named executive director of the CSCA Beijing office. Lui Fei, a seasoned business manager who served as commercial specialist, Trade Facilitation Office at the Embassy of the United States in China, will serve as director of operations.
"Over the past several years, ASME has developed relationships with key Chinese officials, and having an on-the-ground presence in Beijing will help cement those relationships and further efforts to open Chinese markets to U.S. goods and services," said June Ling, ASME's associate executive director for Codes & Standards.
All four members of the consortium are world leaders in standards development. ASME publishes more than 600 codes and standards covering pressure vessels, escalators and elevators, pipelines, plumbing devices, and many other products and systems.
Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, today's ASME is a 120,000-member professional organization focused on technical, educational and research issues of the engineering and technology community. ASME conducts one of the world's largest technical publishing operations, holds numerous technical conferences worldwide, and offers hundreds of professional development courses each year. ASME sets internationally recognized industrial and manufacturing codes and standards that enhance public safety.
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