Since 2025, China’s weighing apparatus industry has embraced multiple development opportunities, including intensified policy supervision, the rise of industrial clusters, and breakthroughs in technological innovation. From the introduction of new "anti-fraud" regulations for people's livelihood metrology, to the official operation of smart industrial parks, and the widespread implementation of unmanned systems, traditional weighing apparatus is accelerating its transformation toward "precision, intelligence, and traceability", providing solid support for safeguarding market economic order and advancing the high-quality development of the manufacturing sector.
Safeguarding Livelihood Metrology: New Regulations Plug Loophole of "Cheating Scales"
Two new metrological technical specifications for electronic price computing scales, recently issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), have attracted significant attention from the industry. Set to take effect in 2026 and 2027 respectively, these regulations directly target the pain points of metrological irregularities such as "short-weight selling".
"Previously, some unscrupulous vendors resorted to fraud by dismantling and modifying scales or replacing their programs. The new regulations have fundamentally cut off such illegal practices from a technical perspective," introduced Liu Hongbin, Deputy Director of the Metrology Department of SAMR. The regulations specify the requirement of "enclosure-locking and authorized unlocking": when the outer shell of an electronic price computing scale is opened, the device will automatically lock itself, and can only be unlocked by authorized personnel using highly confidential dynamic passwords, thus completely resolving the long-standing problem of "unauthorized disassembly and adjustment".
To address the challenge of product authenticity verification, the new regulations mandate a "unique information verification" requirement. Each electronic price computing scale must be assigned exclusive identity information such as a production code and a maintenance code, enabling regulators to verify the consistency of information through an inspection platform and quickly identify counterfeit products. Meanwhile, the technical specification of "three-code one-seal" has achieved full-cycle information traceability covering production, sales, maintenance, and other links.
These series of measures are built on previous regulatory practices. In 2024, SAMR listed the Lianyungang "cheating scales" incident as a key supervision case, and investigated and dealt with 36,000 substandard electronic price computing scales throughout the year. The comprehensive metrological instrument governance initiative launched in 2025 will further expand coverage to more fields such as charging piles and optometry equipment.
Industrial Clusters Scale Up: Hengyang Builds a 10-Billion-Yuan Smart Weighing Apparatus Hub
Under policy guidance, the agglomeration effect of the weighing apparatus industry has continued to strengthen. On May 20—the World Metrology Day—the first phase of the Hengyang Smart Weighing Apparatus Metrology Industrial Park was officially put into operation, with 15 resident enterprises receiving factory keys on site, marking Hunan’s smart weighing apparatus industry entering a stage of large-scale development. As a provincial-level key industrial chain project, the park has adopted a development model combining the renovation of idle factories and new construction, attracting 21 enterprises to sign up for entry. It is also actively collaborating with institutions such as Beihang University and the China Institute of Metrology to establish joint laboratories.
Smart Technology Boosts Efficiency: Unmanned Systems Reshape Industry Ecosystem
On the industrial front, intelligent transformation is profoundly reshaping the application scenarios of weighing apparatus. In October, PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical built the first full-chain unmanned weighing apparatus metrology system in its refining and chemical sector. Nine truck scales and two rail scales were upgraded with smart functions. Through the integrated process of "license plate recognition + voice guidance + QR code scanning operation", drivers can complete a weighing process in just one minute, down from the original four minutes, significantly improving logistics turnover efficiency.
The system integrates technologies such as infrared gratings and high-definition surveillance, enabling real-time detection of irregular behaviors like vehicles partially weighing on scales or failing to fully drive onto scales. Combined with the mechanism of "daily data review and weekly anomaly analysis", the system has achieved zero errors in metrological data.
From anti-fraud safeguards in livelihood markets to the clustered development of industrial parks, from unmanned operations in factory workshops to efficiency revolutions at logistics hubs, China’s weighing apparatus industry is taking policy as its guide and technology as its wings to achieve high-quality development in the precision metrology track. As Liu Hongbin put it: "Metrological technical specifications will continue to be refined in response to market changes, and the dual drive of technological innovation and industrial upgrading will ultimately make precision metrology an important cornerstone for safeguarding people's livelihood and empowering industrial development."
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