The country's first testing and certification center for chemicals opened in Suzhou on Friday, to help local manufacturers meet new EU requirements.

The Chemical Safety Evaluation and Research Center (CSERC) was set up by Suzhou University and Intertek, the leading chemical testing and registration service, and will assist Chinese manufacturers exporting to Europe, said Fred Bai, general manager of Intertek Labtest.

"Using Intertek's experience, the CSERC will help strengthen Western buyers' confidence in the quality and safety of Chinese chemical products," he said.

The regulation, which came into effect on June 1, requires manufacturers or importers of over 1 ton of chemical substances a year to register before exporting. REACH (or the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) covers 30,000 chemical substances and products containing the substances, including textiles, cosmetics, cars and electronics.

It is considered a major stumbling block for Chinese manufacturers, as it can cost up to 1 million euros for evaluation. Non-EU exporters must also register through agencies in Europe, further adding to costs.

Sino-EU trade of chemical industrial products amounted to $20 billion last year, according to customs. That sum is over 7 percent of the total bilateral trade.

"Intertek's global resources can help us fulfill the EU registration requirement and meanwhile offer a much lower price (than EU agencies) thanks to its localized operation," said Shen Qi, CEO of Jiangsu Yoke Chemical Co, which exports about 30 million euros of chemicals to Europe every year.

British company Intertek's access to large databases is also useful for Chinese manufacturers to meet EU requirements, Shen said. According to REACH, safety feature evaluations must be supported by EU-recognized data. Without the data, manufacturers will not gain entry to the EU market.

But for individual Chinese companies, certification costs will still be too high, Shen said. A realistic option for Chinese companies wanting to continue doing business in Europe is to share costs by conducting joint evaluations, Shen said.

"We hope the government and industry associations will take measures to build joint test platforms for manufacturers to share data," Shen said.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GASIQ) plans to build 10 laboratories across the country to test chemical substances in line with REACH requirements.

"I believe the CSERC will set a precedent for successful cooperation between leading test agencies and universities," said Wei Feng, a GASIQ official.

"Hopefully it will be a testing and certification center for chemical exports from not only the Yangtze River Delta, but the whole country."