Up to now, China has 231 service certification bodies, accounting for 40% of all certification bodies; 25,215 service certification certificates, accounting for 1.14% of total certification certificates; and 7,703 registered auditors for service certification, taking up 12% of all registered auditors. With the development of information-based, intelligent, networked and digital industries, service certification has achieved integrated development and coupled symbiosis with advanced manufacturing and high-tech service industries, giving rise to new types of certification including digital construction service certification, green data center service certification, high-end customized service certification, and overseas education service certification. In addition, newly approved certification bodies cover certification items such as digital copyright protection service certification, aviation service training certification, and optometry and eyewear dispensing service certification. Meanwhile, service certification items closely related to people’s lives, such as maternal and infant care, elderly care, and healthcare massage, have maintained steady growth with rising market recognition.

At present, the service sector occupies a pivotal position in China’s national economy. In 2018, the added value of China’s service industry reached 46.9 trillion yuan, accounting for 52% of the total GDP. The service sector took the lead across all indicators including tax generation, employment absorption, new market entities, fixed-asset investment and foreign trade, becoming the primary driving force boosting China’s economic growth under the new normal. Service certification is an innovative certification system based on customer perception, focusing on whether an organization’s quality management and service characteristics meet specified requirements; it refers to conformity assessment activities that verify whether service providers’ management and service levels comply with relevant standards. China launched pilot practices of service certification in 2004, successively carrying out green market certification, information security service qualification certification, automotive glass replacement and installation service certification, after-sales service certification for commodities and other related programs. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to quality certification work. In September 2017, the Guiding Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Launching Quality Improvement Initiatives proposed improving the quality of consumer services and advancing the specialized development of producer services. In January 2018, the State Council issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Development of the Quality Certification System to Promote Comprehensive Quality Management, which states: "Give full play to the role of voluntary certification in lifting quality benchmarks, and vigorously promote high-end quality certification. Carry out service certification in sectors including healthcare, education, sports, finance and e-commerce to expand the supply of high-quality services." Supported and driven by national policies, service certification has entered a fast track of development. According to the Announcement of the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China on the Catalogue of Voluntary Certification Fields and Qualification Approval Requirements, service certification currently covers 22 fields and 3 state-promoted certification systems.

A relevant official from the Certification Supervision Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation stated that service certification has been positioned as high-end quality certification from its early stage of development, embodying high standards, advanced technologies and superior quality. As the proportion of the service sector in the national economy gradually expands, the service industry will inevitably undergo a process of survival of the fittest; low-price and low-quality services will lose market space, while demand for high-quality services will keep rising. Digitization, technological upgrading, informatization and intelligent transformation represent key development directions and core competitive high ground for service certification. Service certification will fully leverage its role in lifting quality benchmarks, facilitate supply-side structural reform of the service industry, and drive high-quality development of the service sector.