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CBAM Accreditation Is Only the First Step. Will Chinese Manufacturers Find Your Firm?

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14 hours ago

On 23 September, Greece-based EmiCert announced that it had been accredited to verify emissions under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). It gave its accreditation certificate number as 874-9. The European Commission has yet to publish a list of accredited CBAM verifiers on its public website. That does not mean no accreditations have been granted.

This is an important moment for firms entering the market. A CBAM verifier must first be accredited by a national accreditation body in an EU member state and then register in the CBAM Registry. Applications for registration have been possible since 1 September 2026. Initial verification work can begin now, although the first verification reports cannot be issued until January 2027.

EmiCert’s case also shows that competition for Chinese clients can begin before most manufacturers even know the verifiers’ names. In November 2025, a subsidiary of the Chinese group Centre Testing International (CTI) acquired a 51% stake in the Greek firm. CTI now combines an established presence in China with a European verification body.

Accreditation gives a firm the authority to provide a defined service. It does not, by itself, help a manufacturer find that firm.

CBAM is the first example

If an importer wants to use actual emissions data in its CBAM declaration, the data from the installation producing the goods outside the EU must be checked by an independent verifier with the appropriate accreditation. The importer may also use the default values provided for in the rules.

The verifier assesses how emissions are monitored, reviews the calculations and supporting documents, and visits the installation where required. The resulting report can then be used in a CBAM declaration.

For a manufacturer in China, this means finding a verifier whose accreditation covers the relevant activity. The verifier may be based inside or outside the EU, but its CBAM accreditation must come from an authorised national accreditation body in an EU member state.

China is a significant supplier to the EU in sectors connected with CBAM. In 2025, it accounted for 11% of the EU’s iron and steel imports from outside the bloc, more than any other individual country.

In 2024, China was the EU’s second-largest supplier of aluminium and articles thereof, after Norway. Imports from China were worth €3.9 billion, or 13.1% of imports in that broad category.

These trade categories do not match the precise scope of CBAM. They do, however, show the scale of Chinese production already linked to the European market.

Machinery and digital products raise similar questions

The main requirements of the new EU Machinery Regulation will apply from 20 January 2027. For certain machinery categories and conformity assessment procedures, a manufacturer will need a notified body. The provisions allowing member states to notify those bodies have applied since 20 January 2024.

Under the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), manufacturers have had to report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents affecting the security of products with digital elements since 11 September 2026, once they become aware of them. The CRA’s main requirements will apply from 11 December 2027. In specified cases, a notified body will have to take part in the conformity assessment.

A manufacturer must first work out which procedure applies to its product. If an external body is needed, it then has to find one with the right scope. That buyer is not simply looking for “certification in Europe”. It needs an answer for a particular machine or digital product.

An official listing cannot answer every question

NANDO lets manufacturers look up notified bodies, their identification numbers and the tasks for which they have been designated. Bodies can also be searched by EU legislation. CBAM verifiers need to be checked separately, through their accreditation documents and the CBAM Registry.

But a manufacturer needs more than proof of formal status to choose a provider.

Does the body know its industry and product type? Does it work on projects outside the EU? Can it visit a plant in China? Which languages can the project be conducted in? How soon can work begin?

An official listing is the start of the selection process, not the end.

For a manufacturer in Shenzhen, Suzhou or Ningbo, those practical answers may determine which firms receive the first enquiries.

Chinese manufacturers start with the problem

A European provider may describe its services as CBAM verification, machinery conformity assessment or cybersecurity certification.

A manufacturer in China starts with what has happened in its business. An importer has asked for verified emissions figures. A machine needs documentation that meets the new requirements. A customer has raised a question about product compliance. Or the company is trying to establish whether a notified body is required at all.

Only then does it begin comparing providers. If the available information consists solely of an official listing and an English-language page about accreditations, the manufacturer must work out for itself whether it has found a suitable firm.

The first CBAM verification reports can be issued from January 2027. A manufacturer will not choose a verifier on the day it needs the report, though. It first needs to identify a suitable firm, agree on the scope of work, provide documentation and prepare the installation for a site visit where one is required.

That makes the coming months important. Manufacturers are beginning to identify firms they might approach for 2027 projects. If your body can work with a Chinese installation in a specific area, explain that capability in Chinese before the manufacturer draws up its list of firms to contact.

See what a potential client can actually find

If you are a notified body, look up your entry in NANDO. If you have CBAM accreditation, check its scope in the documents issued by your national accreditation body and, once your entry is published, in the CBAM Registry.

Can a manufacturer outside Europe learn from those records which sectors and products you cover, whether you work outside the EU and which languages your team uses?

Then ask a Chinese speaker who does not know your firm to find bodies capable of handling a specific case, such as emissions verification at a steel plant. Do not give them any company names. See which firms they find first, and whether yours is among them.

Where EnterChina fits

On Xijinmenhu (西进门户), we present European B2B service providers to Chinese companies selling and operating in Europe. Alongside legal, tax, VAT, EPR, logistics and customs services, we want to give more visibility to testing, certification, verification and conformity assessment.

A Chinese-language profile for a verification or conformity assessment body should explain its authorised scope, the sectors and products it covers, whether it can work at installations outside the EU, and the languages in which it handles projects. That helps a manufacturer decide whether to make an enquiry. An accreditation number alone cannot answer those questions.

A company profile on Xijinmenhu provides a place to explain that offer in Chinese and a way to start the first conversation.

CBAM, the Machinery Regulation and the Cyber Resilience Act are creating more situations in which manufacturers need to identify conformity assessment bodies and specialist providers.

If your firm can solve a specific problem for a Chinese manufacturer, will that manufacturer be able to find and understand your offer before choosing whom to contact?

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