“We have indicated we can be increasingly reliant” on other regulatory bodies, Mr. Olson said Monday, “but the starting point has to be joint inspections, so we can get to know each other.”

The connection of the two bodies is built around a sequence of full and empty, with a courtyard and an elevator handled as transparent box, as the centerpiece of the joint.

Some members also observed that all foreign or joint venture conformity assessment bodies that met China's requirements should be eligible for accreditation and accorded national treatment.