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Difference Between CE Marking and the China Export Logo
When buying a product, it is especially important to consider its quality, but not all certificates are the same. Hence the need to know what CE marking is and what the China Export logo is to know which items are of higher quality.
What is CE marking?
CE marking is a certification system created in 2006. It is responsible for certifying that a product complies with the safety standards for its use established within the European Union. It applies to products manufactured both inside and outside the European Economic Area.
The CE certificate is represented by letters that are the acronym for Conformité Européenne (European conformity). These are two letters with a minimum vertical dimension of five millimeters. They are placed on the product itself or its descriptive plate, always in a way that is visible, legible, and indelible. Alongside the letters, the identification number of the Notified Body that has intervened must appear.
The marking itself does not imply that the product has undergone control or guarantee by an authority, but rather that the manufacturer acknowledges that the item is safe and compliant with the European standards it is obliged to meet.
CE product marking can be used both in cases of presumption of conformity and in cases of demonstration of conformity.
The China Export Logo
As CE marking auditors, we know that it is completely prohibited to use signs or marks that could be confused with the CE certificate. But we encounter the China Export mark, whose initials coincide. What happens then?
The China Export logo was created by a group of Chinese companies shortly after the appearance of the CE certificate. It is a mark that accompanies certain products that are manufactured and exported from China.
The problem is that its design is very similar to the certificate used in Europe, but it is not official in any case. Products bearing the China Export logo have not undergone any risk or safety evaluation imposed by the European Union itself.
What lies behind this logo is nothing more than an attempt to deceive consumers. Making them think that the product they are purchasing is safe in accordance with European standards. The reason for this is that Chinese manufacturers and exporters know that European consumers tend to distrust products “made in China” due to their usually low quality.
Legislation is already acting against this, and establishes administrative sanctions ranging from 1000 to 6000 euros, in addition to the seizure of products, if marks that could be confused with the CE certificate or restrict its visibility or legibility are used.
Differences Between CE Marking and China Export
Besides the difference in meaning, it is important for consumers to learn to see the physical difference between both certificates. It is clear that the marking of a household product, for example, is not as important as the marking of a medical product, but consumers have the right to know if what they are acquiring meets minimum safety and quality standards.
The problem is that the CE letters identifying both the European certificate and the China Export logo are practically identical, what changes is the space between them. In the European mark the letters are obtained from two circles and there must be at least half the width of the letter C between the C and the E.
Additionally, in the European certificate the size of the letters cannot be less than 5 millimeters and they must appear on the product itself or on the packaging. On the other hand, the product is accompanied by a declaration of conformity that includes important information such as the name and address of the manufacturer or its representative within the European Union, the product description, a reference to the applied standards or specifications, and the name of the notified bodies that have participated in the product’s conformity assessment process.
In the case of the China Export logo, the distance we have indicated between the letters is not respected. These are much closer to each other. What happens is that, frequently, this is difficult to verify at first glance. Hence, consumers are advised to check if the product includes the declaration of conformity. If it is not there, it is a clear sign that we are dealing with a product marked with the China Export logo and not with the CE certificate.
Now that you know what CE marking is and how to distinguish it from the China Export logo, you can easily ensure that the products you purchase are of the highest quality and comply with European safety standards.