The Parallel Session on Standards of the Seventh Hongqiao International Economic Forum was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) on November 5. Xu Xinjian, the Chief Inspector of Anti-Monopoly of the State Administration for Market Regulation and Zhuang Mudi, the Deputy Sectary-General of Shanghai Municipal People's Government presented and delivered speeches.

At the forum, Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO); Philippe Metzger, Secretary-General and CEO of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC); Leila Pakkala, Director of UNICEF Supply Division; Ma Yushan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; and representatives from Chinese and foreign manufacturing enterprises, including Wang Decheng and Mike Kesti, delivered keynote speeches on the theme of "International Cooperation on Standards for High-Quality Development of Manufacturing Industry". The forum also engaged in a panel discussion focused on the international standardization needs, challenges faced, and future development directions of smart manufacturing.

At the parallel session, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China) also released two key achievements: the foreign language versions of 337 national standards and the international standardization roadmap for smart manufacturing. These will play an active role in promoting international cooperation on manufacturing standards and advancing the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.

Standards are an important foundation and technical support for the development of the global governance system and economic and trade cooperation. The international cooperation on standards, as an important element of institutional openness, is an internal requirement for building a higher-level open economic system. All along, China has vigorously promoted institutional openness in standards, actively participated in the governance of international standards organizations, and has been actively working to establish an internal and external cohesive institutional system, an open and integrated work system, and an internationally compatible standards system, contributing Chinese wisdom to the development of international and regional standardization. China will continue to uphold the principles of openness, inclusiveness and cooperation to deepen standards cooperation, strengthen communication and mutual learning with other countries, improve and support the international standards system for high-quality development in the manufacturing industry, and promote global economic prosperity and sustainable development.

Representatives from some provincial (municipal) market regulation bureaus, industry associations in the manufacturing field, research institutes on standardization, and Chinese and foreign enterprises attended the forum, with more than 200 participants in total.