Portable chargers and lithium-ion batteries in China brought under CCC scope

The Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CNCA) published announcement No. 2026/7 on 31 May 2026. The announcement brings into force the newly published mandatory national standard GB 47372-2026 "Safety Specification for Portable Chargers" and the revised CCC implementation rules (CNCA-C09-02:2026).

The CCC obligation for portable chargers is not new: from 1 August 2024, lithium-ion batteries and portable power sources needed a CCC certificate to be legally sold in China and carried on domestic flights. The new announcement updates the technical basis of that regime.

The scope covers portable power products designed to be carried by the user and containing a lithium-ion battery or battery pack: classic power banks, portable energy storage systems, and mobile power sources for camping and outdoor use.

Two thresholds bound the scope: the product's weight not exceeding 18 kilograms and the total rated capacity of its batteries exceeding 600 mAh. These two values are the first check for whether a product falls within scope.

From 1 March 2026, high-risk products including portable chargers must use the new CCC mark carrying a traceability QR code.

This is a change affecting label design and packaging print. Even a product with a valid certificate runs into trouble in the market if labelled with the old form of the mark; certificate and label are two separate checkpoints.

Manufacturers already holding a CCC certificate for portable chargers and the lithium-ion batteries and battery packs used in them must complete the required additional testing, inspection and certificate conversion by 1 April 2027.

After this date, affected products must be certified against GB 47372-2026 and CNCA-C09-02:2026. In other words, an existing certificate does not automatically continue; it loses validity if the conversion is not carried out.

Since the scope of additional testing varies by product, the first step is obtaining a gap list from the body that issued the certificate. Whether a factory inspection is needed also becomes clear at this stage, and it most determines the timetable.

Portable chargers and lithium-ion batteries are the most common source of fire incidents in consumer electronics. The nature of the risk is also special: failure is not gradual — once thermal runaway begins, the event progresses within seconds and can spread to neighbouring cells.

The second factor is market structure: these products are made by a large number of small manufacturers under low-price pressure. Simplifying the protection circuit to cut cost is a common form of nonconformity.

When these two factors combine, the regulator's preference becomes predictable: mandatory certification involving third-party testing and factory inspection, instead of a route based on manufacturer self-declaration.

Assessment in this group mostly runs at two levels: cell and final product. Requiring separate evidence for the cell does not remove the need for testing the final product; both are filed separately.

Testing is done at an accredited laboratory within the country, and because battery tests are destructive, the sample count is high. The sample plan is clarified before a lab slot is booked.

Factory inspection can also cover the cell manufacturer; whether the cell supplier in the chain is ready for inspection is confirmed from the outset. Supplier unpreparedness is the most common cause of schedule loss.

A transition period is defined for scope changes; at its end, importing and selling uncertified products stops. The status of stock already on the market during the period is regulated separately, and this information is decisive for commercial planning.

Model variety is high in this group: differences in capacity, cell supplier and charging power can count as separate models, pushing the number of certificates above expectations. Portfolio screening is done from the outset.

Certificate ownership is clearly regulated in the contract: the certificate is issued in the name of the applicant established in the country, and the certificate holder retains control of the product in the market.