A consortium of worldwide standards developers plan to open an office in Beijing in an effort to convince Chinese manufacturers to use U.S. and Canadian technical standards. The consortium, led by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, will also advocate the development of Chinese standards that are compatible with those in North America, says Mark Sheehan, ASME managing director for development of codes and standards.

The consortium recently received a $399,500 grant from the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, money which will be used to open the Beijing office. The maximum amount for an award given by the trade administration is $400,000. The other members of the consortium are ASTM International, the American Petroleum Institute and CSA America. All four members are world leaders in standards development.

“This award will help us to immediately establish a firmer standards presence in China,” says June Ling, ASME’s associate executive director for codes and standards. “Over the past several years, we have 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.”

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