Chinese Standard GB/T, GBT, GB

Tips & Frequently Asked Questions:

Question 1: How is the Chinese standards structured and its hierarchy?

Answer: There are 5 levels: National standards (Prefix: GB, GB/T); Industry standards (Prefix: QC or QC/T, YY or YY/T etc.); Local/Provincial standards (Prefix: DB14 etc.); Association/Group standards (Prefix: T/); Enterprise standards (Prefix: Q/). See tables above.

Question 2: Which authorities in China are responsible for national standards (GB, GB/T)?

Answer: Both GB and GB/T series standards are issued by Standardization Administration of China (SAC), typically co-issued by State Administration for Market Regulation (into which SAC was fully integrated from 2018), with exceptions (National food safety standards - by National Health Commission of PRC; Environmental standards - by Ministry of Ecology and Environment of PRC; Construction engineering standards - by Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of PRC).

Question 3: Which authorities in China are responsible for industry standards?

Answer: The corresponding ministries / agencies such as Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), National Medical Products Administration. Cross mapping of industry standards and issuing agencies: See tables above.

Question 4: What are the differences between GB and GB/T?

Answer: GB (e.g., GB 38031-2025, GB 4943.1-2022) is the mandatory national standard, while GB/T (e.g., GB/T 27930-2023, GB/T 18487.1-2023) is the recommended national standard (/T denotes recommendation). GB may be downgraded to GB/T in next version (for example, GB 150.1-2011 ~ GB 150.4-2011 were downgraded to GB/T 150.1-2025 ~ GB/T 150.4-2025), and vice versa. For rare cases, standard might be downgraded in the same year. For example, GB 2099.2-2012 was downgraded to GB/T 2099.2-2012 after issued, they are identical and exchangeable except the standard ID (typically, new document GB/T 2099.2-2012 will not be issued but mere an announcement to void GB 2099.2-2012. Therefore, text-document GB 2099.2-2012 can officially act as GB/T 2099.2-2012's, except the standard ID). The typical reasons behind are downgrading the technical requirements due to feedback from the market execution and stakeholders. This downgrading concept also applies to industry standards. In practices, GB/T should be treated as quasi-mandatory standards, especially in the areas of factory inspection, product certification and type approval.

Question 5: How is the Chinese standard ID structured?

Answer: Each Chinese standard ID is structured by 4 parts, namely, hierarchy level, serial number, part of the series (optional), and the issuing year. For example, GB 38031-2025: GB--National standard, 38031--serial number, 2025--issued in 2025. GB/T 18487.1-2023: GB/T--recommended national standard, 18487--serial number, 1--Part 1 of the series, 2023--issued in 2023.

Question 6: What are the differences and relationship between Chinese standards and international standards?

Answer: Chinese standards do not directly reuse international standards or foreign standards. However, there are small part of the Chinese standards that technically adopt international standards IEC and ISO. The technical adoption and cross relationship are indicated on the 1st page -- IDT denotes identical; MOD denotes modified (In early year, other terms may additionally be used -- EQV denotes equivalent, NEQ denotes not-equivalent).

Question 7: Is there official English version of Chinese standard?

Answer: No. Chinese standards are only issued in Chinese language, unlike IEC/ISO which may be officially issued in multiple languages. Some agencies in China may translate some of Chinese standards to serve the needs of government and state-owned entities, however, these translated copies are not commercially available. In practice, commercial translation companies such as www.ChineseStandard.net are the reliable suppliers.