RFID in China

At present, China has four widely used frequency ranges for RFID applications. The first is the low frequency range from 105 KHz to 200 KHz. The second frequency range is 13.553 MHz to 13.567 MHz. China's second generation ID cards fall in this frequency range, and this frequency range is used extensively for fare collection in public transport systems. The third frequency range is 915 MHz to 928 MHz UHF at up to 2 W power. The identification of China's high-speed railway carriages uses this range of frequency. The fourth is the range from 2.40 GHz to 2.425 GHz. Internationally, there is also the 433m MHz UHF frequency for RFID technology.

In October 2005, SRRC published regulations on short-range devices covering 433 MHz and allowed this frequency to be used for short-range RFID products. The SRRC Certification Center provides radio-type approval for RFID radio devices where in-country testing is mandatory. The cost of testing is determined by SRRC and charged by the test labs. SRRC radio-type approval on RFID devices are documents submission, in country product testing, review and approval, and product labeling. There are multiple certification systems in China, and other agency approvals may be required in addition to SRRC approval.

2 Standard
With several Chinese government agencies having competing interest in RFID, it is difficult to understand who is in charge. While China's standardization work is centrally managed by the Standardization Administration of China (SAC; www.sac.gov.cn/english/home.asp), specific standardization work is performed by affiliated relevant technical committees. In September 2005, the SAC issued an officially approved document listing ISO/IEC 18000 in the national standard revision plan. The Article Numbering Center of China (ANCC) and Electronic Industry Standardization Research Institute (CESI; www.cesi.cn/www/en/) assumed the responsibility to convert ISO/IEC 18000 into a national standard. The Ministry of Science and Technology (www.most.gov.cn/eng) took the lead in creating an association of 14 ministries and commissions to organize specialists all over China to prepare a white paper for China technical policy on RFID. This white paper has been completed and submitted to the leaders of relevant ministries and commissions for examination. The white paper studies and establishes China's technological strategy for RFID, industrialization promotion strategy, and standards strategy, and it will play an important role in China's RFID development.

3 Major Institutions in Developing and Testing RFID
Many technical and demonstration centers on RFID technology have been established by Chinese research institutes.

The following are some of these centers:
RFID Research Center
This is the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; http://english.cas.cn/Eng2003/page/home.asp) Institute of Automation's (www.ia.ac.cn/new/english/info.asp?column_191) department for R&D on radio frequency technology. This center conducts research and development and applies the theories and methods that have potential into the industrial ecosystem. Currently, however, the main focus is on RFID testing technology, Internet based RFID information networks, and RFID applications in typical industrial situations such as production control in the manufacturing industry, supply chain management in the tobacco industry, food safety, forgery prevention, and others.

Auto-ID Laboratory
This laboratory is located within Fudan University. It is one of seven Auto-ID laboratories in the world. Relying on Fudan University's National Major Laboratory for Application Specific Integrated Circuits and Systems, it specializes in research and development, and promotion of automatic identification, intelligent object, and EPC systems. The laboratory conducts basic and applied research related to various industries. It develops EPC systems and tools, promotes the EPC concept, and conducts research on core RFID technology. It participates in the establishment of Chinese RFID standards, promotes RFID applications in China, and provides RFID system training.

EPC/RFID Lab
This lab belongs to the China EPC Working Group (http://www.chinaepc.org). It is an open RFID experiment platform where extensive RFID application systems may be tested, including tests for software systems and label application schemes. This lab is supported by EPC Solutions International, Oracle, Printronix, VeriSign, and Alien Technology.

Shanghai RFID Solution Center
Set up by RFID Research Center of Shanghai Jiaotong University, this center congregates a number of RFID equipments and provides vivid interaction with the public. The center has already implemented several applications that could demonstrate the use of RFID in the entire supply chain, including the manufacturer, distribution center, and retail store.

Microsoft Technical Center (China) RFID Laboratory
This laboratory is for the development of RFID-integrated platform software. A beta version system has been completed, and it is being tested as of this writing.

NEC Academy (China)
This academy is for applied research of RFID in supply chains for cold storage of perishable food and forgery prevention.