10th Annual Meeting of the Sino-German Standardisation Cooperation Commission (SGSCC)

Norms and standards were not only important mediators between different economic areas, they also enable innovation and technological progress, notes co-chair Dr Thomas Zielke of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Kilmaschutz - BMWK). They were the technical basis for realising the innovation potential of key technologies and thus not only maked an essential contribution to economic growth, but also ensured that new technologies are safe for the environment and consumers.

The Sino-German Standardisation Cooperation Commission (SGSCC) brings together numerous experts from standardisation organisations, science, and industry. They discuss and promote international standardisation in areas such as Industrie 4.0, automated and connected driving and electromobility.

The participating experts come from German and Chinese standardisation institutions, companies, and trade associations. During the year, they work in sub-working groups to develop proposals for the standardisation of electromobility, around Industrie 4.0 and for automated and connected driving. Through their commitment, they promote joint standardisation approaches and the removal of technical barriers to trade between the two countries.

Setting international standards together

The plenary is the core element of the SGSCC. The plenary session establishes a common level of knowledge on current standardisation policy developments, results assurance, and reporting. It also defines concrete topics for bilateral cooperation and cooperation at international level in the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). There are three sub-working groups (SWG) - SWG Industrie 4.0 (since 2015), SWG Electromobility (since 2011) and SWG Automated and Connected Driving (since 2021) – that work on strategically important topics.

Despite the ongoing travel restrictions between Germany and China due to the Chinese government's Zero-Covid strategy, this year's cooperation turned out to be productive. At the 10th plenary session of the SGSCC, the experts presented important work results. The SWG Electromobility presented progress in the field of megawatt charging system (MCS) for heavy commercial vehicles, Load dump (GB/T 18487,1 and ISO 21498) and drive motor systems for electric vehicles (GB / T 18488) and on battery standardisation.

Within the framework of the SWG Industrie 4.0, three publications were developed. The “Sino-German White Paper on IT Security Tests for Industrie 4.0 and Intelligent Manufacturing” addresses the need for security tests in the context of intelligent manufacturing. The study on “Use Case and Scenarios of Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance” presents a framework for the application of predictive maintenance. The “Joint Technical Report Digital Twin/Asset Administration Shell” provides an overview of the collaboration and numerous standard-setting efforts related to the Digital Twin and the Administration Shell.

Many actors, one goal

The cooperation brings together numerous political and economic interests. The number of actors involved is correspondingly large. BMWK as well as the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国国家市场监督总局 - SAMR) and the Standardisation Administration of the People's Republic of China (中国国家标准化管理委员会 - SAC) oversee of the cooperation.

The German Institute for Standardisation (Deutsches Institut für Normung - DIN) and the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies in DIN and VDE (Deutsche Kommission Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik – DKE), as well as the SAC on the Chinese side, manage the content of the technical cooperation.