On January 12, 2026, SAC/TC609 (Data) publicized the Notice on Calling for First Batch of National Standard Needs of 2026 (hereinafter referred to as “the Notice”) to collect feedback on the standard needs for the TC’s five WGs (WG2 to WG6) and six AGs (AG1 to AG6).

The Notice specify the scope of the standards needs that are recruited:

-  Five key areas for general and common use: data governance, circulation and use, comprehensive digital transition, data technology and data infrastructure.

-  Six preferred sectors: natural resources, ecology and environment, disease control, traditional Chinese medicine, media and pharmaceuticals

The qualifications of proposals/feedback are also put forward in the Notice as:

-  Fall within the scope of work of the TC609 and conforms to the key planning for data standardization in 2026.

-  The goal of the proposals shall be to unlock the value of data elements. They shall solve issues, meet demands and have feasibility, and does not duplicate the current or under-researched national standards.

-  Have a solid foundation of pre-research, demonstrating either general applicability or industry-specific expertise.

-  The entity that submits the proposal/feedback is responsible for the authenticity of the information, and should particularly explain the name of the standard, the object, the content to be regulated and the problems to be solved.

All proposals/feedback are required to be submitted on the official website of TC609 (https://www.tc609.org.cn) before the end of January 31, 2026. Specific task forces and sector-level working groups will be established to thoroughly review the standard needs within the TC, and the results will be submitted to the secretariat of TC609 for the final round of review and assessment before form the final standard list for the next steps.

Foreign stakeholders are advised to participate in the proposal/feedback calling, as data governance and digital transition is one of the key task that China is putting efforts in, and relevant standard system and standardization works shall eventually connect with all sectors in the long run.