National Quality Infrastructure (National Quality Infrastructure) is abbreviated as NQI. It is a set of policies, regulations, regulatory frameworks and practices that include standards, certification and accreditation, inspection and testing, measurement and other elements. It can promote trade development and market environment. Optimization, technological progress and quality upgrades, which in turn bring about overall economic development. After years of hard work in my country, the national quality infrastructure framework has become increasingly mature, and its role in promoting high-quality economic development has also increased significantly. The government work report of the State Council in 2021 mentioned that it is necessary to strengthen the construction of quality infrastructure, implement in-depth quality improvement actions, improve the standard system, promote the effective connection of upstream and downstream standards in the industrial chain, promote the spirit of craftsmanship, and improve the quality of Chinese manufacturing with meticulous work. In the context of accelerating the construction of a new development pattern and the increasing importance of the domestic consumer market, improving the national quality infrastructure can provide consumers with higher-quality consumer products, increase consumer willingness on the demand side, and expand domestic demand and prosper the economy.
However, in some emerging industries, the relevant quality standards are not yet complete, and the quality management of small and medium-sized enterprises is still at a relatively low level. In order to achieve the comprehensive improvement of the national quality infrastructure, this article takes the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as an example to put forward the overall proposal of formulating and implementing the national quality development strategy.
Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao should establish a unified quality standard system as soon as possible
The Outline of the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area proposes to build the Greater Bay Area into a demonstration zone for in-depth cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macau to promote the convenient and orderly flow of people, funds, goods and information. This will inevitably require Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to establish a unified quality standard system as soon as possible. However, due to historical and economic development levels, the quality standards of Hong Kong and Macau are deeply influenced by Western developed countries such as Europe and the United States or international organizations.
In order to implement the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan Outline" and lead the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area with high standards, Guangdong will incorporate quality infrastructure construction and interconnection into the province’s new infrastructure construction plan in 2020, and support The key industrial clusters establish national and provincial professional institutions for measurement, standards, inspection and testing, and certification, aiming to fully implement the value orientation of "quality is king" and solidly promote the construction of a province with strong quality. In addition, Guangdong is actively preparing to establish a standardization research center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and is committed to building a "triad" research institution for policies, rules, and standards in the Greater Bay Area to promote the free flow of elements in the region. Guangzhou is also actively promoting docking cooperation with Hong Kong and Macau in various fields. In 2019, Guangzhou issued the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area “vegetable Basket” Construction Implementation Plan", referring to the food standards for Hong Kong and Macau, and established a quality and safety standard system for the entire Greater Bay Area “vegetable basket” products. At the same time, with Guangzhou as the hub, connecting Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and other cities in the Mainland, we will build a platform that provides product inspection and quarantine, customs clearance & ldquo;one-stop” efficient and convenient services. In March 2021, Guangzhou issued the "General Plan for the Construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Medical and Health Comprehensive Experimental Zone" to promote the construction of a world-class "healthy bay area" and medical and health community in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and facilitate the registration of Hong Kong and Macao doctors in Guangzhou Practice. At the same time, it will help to achieve in-depth cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in the fields of medical technology development and medical service docking, and establish internationally recognized quality standards for traditional Chinese medicine products.
How to improve the quality of infrastructure in the Greater Bay Area
At present, there are still inconsistent standards and rules in various fields such as legal services, finance, medical care, and construction in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. In order to improve the level of national quality infrastructure in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and continue to play its leading and leading role in the country, this article further proposes the following more specific suggestions.
On the one hand, from the perspective of the three major areas of NQI. First of all, standards are conducive to shortening the time lag between technological innovation and technology landing, and effectively promote the circulation of products and commodities. Therefore, we must actively explore the unification of relevant standards in the Greater Bay Area, and make full use of and integrate the advantages of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to promote the alignment of rules in the fields of talent, education, and medical care. At the same time, speed up the convergence of trade rules and break through trade barriers in the Greater Bay Area.
Secondly, conformity assessment can reduce information asymmetry in the trade field and increase mutual trust between the parties involved. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to promote the interconnection of standards and assessment work in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao can promote close cooperation in standards, inspection and testing, certification and accreditation through the establishment of standards and rules mutual recognition seminars and related work conferences.
Furthermore, reliable measurement can improve production efficiency, avoid waste of resources, provide accurate information to trading partners, and reduce transaction risks. Therefore, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao should focus on improving the social public measurement standards, speed up the formulation of common measurement technical specifications for the three places, and promote the collaborative development of measurement activities and the improvement of measurement level and capacity in the entire Greater Bay Area. At the same time, strengthen the training, exchanges and cooperation of metrology talents to jointly promote the construction and development of metrology systems.
On the other hand, from the perspective of related organizations.
Party and government departments must play the dual role of guidance and supervision. They must not only help enterprises build quality infrastructure, but also perform their own supervisory and management responsibilities. Relevant departments must actively promote the construction of quality infrastructure “one-stop” services, and provide comprehensive quality infrastructure services for all regions and enterprises (especially small and medium-sized enterprises). It is also possible to set up a "Special Support Fund for Enterprise Quality Improvement" to explore policies such as deductions for enterprise quality costs.
Industry associations shoulder the important task of providing various services related to quality management to the government, enterprises and society, and focus on communication and coordination between relevant parties. For example, the China Certification and Accreditation Association should perform its functions in industry information statistics, analysis, evaluation, and release, and manage certain certification and accreditation chaos in the current society, and create a healthy certification and accreditation market environment.
R&D institutions should devote themselves to the research and development of new technologies, so that the national quality development strategy actively embraces new technologies. For example, the use of blockchain technology to create a platform for the government, enterprises and consumers to jointly build and govern together, and put enterprise-related information on the chain, is conducive to the government's supervision of the implementation of corporate standards, and it is also conducive to consumers to intuitively understand the company's Quality management level.
(Author's unit: Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences)