Review: Highlights of the 13th Annual Meeting of the Sino-German Standardization Cooperation Commission (DCKN)
China
The 13th Annual Meeting of the Sino-German Standardization Cooperation Commission (DCKN) brought together experts from Germany and China in November 2025 to advance key topics in international standardization. A total of 130 specialists participated, including 53 delegates from Germany and 77 from China, reflecting the strong commitment and importance of this longstanding partnership.
A Historic Milestone: 50 Years of German Standardization Policy
This year’s meeting took place against the backdrop of a special anniversary: 50 years of German standardization policy, celebrated earlier in 2025. The long-standing and successful collaboration with China underscores how deeply rooted and trusted the bilateral relationship has become in the field of standardization.
Key Outcomes and Highlights
Digital Product Passport (DPP): Important Signals for International Cooperation
One of the central topics discussed was the Digital Product Passport (DPP). In an in-depth political and technical exchange, the Chinese delegation expressed its fundamental support for the newly planned Joint Technical Committee (JTC) at ISO/IEC level. This marks a clear joint ambition to further develop and promote the DPP internationally.
Electromobility & Battery Recycling: Concrete Progress
The Sub-Working Group on Electromobility addressed a wide range of topics, including charging technologies, bidirectional charging, communication and safety.
Updates were shared on the “Boost Mode” discussions and on the goal of transferring ISO 21498 into a GB/T standard.
A particularly concrete result: Both sides presented a new jointly developed standard for battery discharge, aiming to significantly improve battery recyclability.
Industry 4.0: Publication of Three New Sino-German White Papers
The seven Technical Expert Groups (TEGs) of the Industry 4.0 Sub-Working Group reported extensive progress from the past year. This includes the publication of three new Sino-German white papers on functional safety, industrial network communication (NetCom) and IT security for industrial applications.
In addition, the working plan and priorities for the upcoming year were defined. The group will place a stronger focus on topics such as “industrial data spaces” and “industrial data”.
Vision of the “All Electric Society”
Another forward-looking topic was the vision of an All Electric Society — a CO₂-neutral world in which all energy demand is met entirely through renewable electricity. Advances in electromobility and the ongoing expansion of renewable energy contribute to making this vision increasingly tangible.
Digitalization of the Quality Infrastructure (QI)
Representatives from QI-Digital presented their vision of a fully digitalized quality infrastructure, aiming to modernize and streamline conformity assessment, testing and certification processes.
Appreciation & Outlook
We extend our sincere thanks to the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) for their outstanding hospitality, as well as to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, DIN, and DKE for co-organising this year’s meeting. Most importantly, we thank all 130 experts and decision-makers whose dedicated work made this successful event possible.
We look forward to continuing our cooperation in the coming year — and to jointly shaping the future of international standardization!