New exemptions streamline China's vehicle safety inspections

New cars under private ownership will be exempted from safety inspections for six years after they are registered for use in China.[Photo/Xinhua]

New cars under private ownership will be exempted from safety inspections for six years after they are registered for use in China.

The new policy will be put into practice on a trial basis starting from September, said Huang Ming, vice minister of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Previously, private cars had to pass a vehicle safety test every two years, resulting in long lines of car owners queueing in front of inspection stations.

Under the new policy, jointly issued by the MPS and the national quality watchdog on Friday, vehicles could also be inspected either in the location in which they are registered or the location they are in use.

Policemen and inspectors with quality supervision departments will be forbidden from operating inspection stations to prevent insider dealing, said Wei Chuanzhong, deputy director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

The MPS and the AQSIQ promised to put forward more specifics on the inspection program in the following months in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the guideline.