Publication of China National Standard GB 4943.1-2022

On July 19, 2022, the State Administration for Market Supervision (SAMR) in China issued the new mandatory national safety standard GB 4943.1-2022. It will be adopted for China Compulsory Certification (CCC) and China Quality Certification Center (CQC) certification for AV and IT Equipment. 
 
The new standard GB 4943.1-2022 is based on IEC 62368-1:2018 standard and integrates the original standards GB 4943.1-2011 and GB 8898-2011.

GB 4943.1-2022 is a mandatory national safety standard that provides a basis for relevant government departments to carry out certification and supervision. It provides guidance to product designers for safer design of their products and procedures for testing professionals to conduct testing. This will help them to keep up with technological development, adapt to the needs of product updates and conform with international standards.

Latest update

Here is some key information about the new standard: 

• GB 4943.1-2022 Audio/Video, information and communication technology equipment – Part 1: Safety requirements – Covers electrical and electronic equipment within the field of audio, video, information and communication technology, as well as business and office machines. It will be implemented on Aug. 1, 2023. 

The original mandatory national standards: 

• GB 4943.1-2011 Information technology equipment – Safety - Part 1: General requirements (IEC 60950-1:2005, M0D). 
• GB 8898-2011 Audio, video and similar electronic apparatus – Safety requirements (IEC 60065:2005, MOD).

Improvements of the standard 

1. There are two major improvements in this revision of the standard, which conform to the current technology industry development trend: 

• The scope of application is further expanded, including three categories of equipment – audio and video equipment, information technology equipment and communication technology equipment. 
• The technology is optimized and upgraded. The new standard classifies the energy source of the product, comprehensively considers the risks and the possible sources of electric shock, fire, overheating and sound and light radiation that may occur during the use of various electronic products and adds corresponding protection requirements and test methods. 

2. The differences from the international standard IEC 62368-1:2018 are summarized below: 

• Adopted stricter safety protection measures requiring electronic products to have corresponding overcurrent protection devices and isolation measures for protection ground and signal ground.
• Set stricter requirements for air insulation when designing and manufacturing electronic products. 
• Added the corresponding safety requirements for the effect of high temperature and high humidity on reducing the insulating properties of materials. 

Official sources 

http://www.sac.gov.cn/xw/bzhxw/202207/t20220727_350142.htm 

http://zxd.sacinfo.org.cn/gb_notice/1658758677748.pdf

https://std.samr.gov.cn/gb/search/gbDetailed?id=E4A2A4C875736A5DE05397BE0A0A61E8 

How to achieve conformity

Manufacturers need to send samples to the CCC laboratory for additional testing and submit the modification application to CQC to obtain the revised certificate for the relevant CCC certified products related to GB 4943.1-2022 version upgrades before the deadline, Aug. 1, 2023. 

How to navigate compliance with UL solutions

As a global safety science leader, UL Solutions can help you evaluate your products for compliance with the GB 4943.1-2022 standard and ease market access. 

We have deep expertise in helping manufacturers understand and support their transition to IEC 62368-1 and the various national versions of the standard. We are well represented in IEC TC108, the IEC technical committee responsible for standards for safety of electronic equipment within AV, information technology and communication technology.

This provides our engineers with insights into the latest developments associated with IEC 62368-1 and a solid understanding of the principles on which these standards are built. 

Contact us today to find out more.