Last updated: 1 October 2026.
Quick answer. China's valve standards are split between mandatory national standards, which are few and application-specific, and recommended standards, which carry the terminology, materials, pressure testing, marking and type specifications. A specification for valves bought from China should name the standard number, the material standard and the pressure test the supplier will run.
How China's national standards organise industrial valves — terminology, materials, pressure testing, marking and the type standards a specification should name.
Every standard number, title, status and date below was read from the National Standards Information Public Service Platform, operated under China's State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China. That platform is a Chinese-language registry; the English titles here are this page's own translation of the official Chinese titles, and the Chinese original governs. No standard's technical content is reproduced on this page — what follows is the register: which standards exist, what each covers by its official title, whether it is in force, and when it took effect. The platform was queried on 1 October 2026 and is listed at the end.
A foreign buyer specifying valves from China usually meets two problems at once. The first is that the standards a Chinese factory works to are Chinese, and the standards a Western buyer knows best are not. The second is that the register of those Chinese standards is public and searchable, but it tells you what a standard is rather than what it requires.
This page is about the first problem. It maps the register. It does not pretend to be the second, and it says so again at the end of the page.
How the numbers on this page were produced. The platform's search was queried for the Chinese term for valve on 1 October 2026. That returned 142 records whose official title contains the term. Of those, 80 were in force, 2 were published but not yet effective, and 60 were withdrawn. Of the 80 in force, 78 are recommended standards and 2 are mandatory.
Two things follow from that split, and both are useful:
| Standard | Official title (translated) | Published | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB 15930-2024 | Fire dampers for building ventilation and smoke-exhaust systems | 2024-11-28 | 2026-03-01 |
| GB 5135.6-2018 | Automatic sprinkler systems — Part 6: general valves | 2018-02-06 | 2018-09-01 |
Both are application standards for fire and life-safety systems rather than general industrial valves. If your order is ordinary industrial valves for water, oil, gas or process service, neither of these is the operative document — and that is worth knowing, because it means the question "is this compliant?" is usually answered by a contract and a recommended standard rather than by a mandatory one.
Note the first row's dates. GB 15930-2024 was published in November 2024 but takes effect on 1 March 2026. Chinese standards frequently carry a long lead between publication and effect, which is a real risk item for an order placed against a draft specification.
Four standards carry the vocabulary your drawing, your purchase order and the valve's nameplate will use.
| Standard | Official title (translated) | Status | Published | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB/T 21465-2008 | Valves — terminology | In force | 2008-02-28 | 2008-08-01 |
| GB/T 12224-2015 | Steel valves — general requirements | In force | 2015-12-10 | 2016-07-01 |
| GB/T 12220-2015 | Industrial valves — marking | In force | 2015-05-15 | 2016-02-01 |
| GB/T 32808-2016 | Valves — model designation method | In force | 2016-08-29 | 2017-03-01 |
This page's own recommendation, from working through the register: name all four in the specification. The terminology standard fixes what the words mean, the general-requirements standard fixes what the product is, the marking standard fixes what has to be on the body, and the designation standard fixes how the model code is built. Together they are the part of the order that a third party can later check against physical goods.
Chinese valve standards separate the product from its material, and the material side is unusually well covered. Each of these is a material standard in its own right:
| Standard | Official title (translated) | Published | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB/T 12225-2018 | General valves — copper alloy castings, technical conditions | 2018-05-14 | 2018-12-01 |
| GB/T 12226-2025 | General valves — grey iron castings, technical specification | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12227-2025 | General valves — ductile iron castings, technical specification | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12228-2025 | General valves — carbon steel forgings, technical specification | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12229-2025 | General valves — carbon steel castings, technical specification | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12230-2023 | General valves — stainless steel castings, technical conditions | 2023-05-23 | 2023-12-01 |
| GB/T 35741-2017 | Stainless steel forgings for industrial valves, technical conditions | 2017-12-29 | 2018-07-01 |
| GB/T 35740-2017 | Nickel and nickel-base alloy castings for industrial valves, technical conditions | 2017-12-29 | 2018-07-01 |
| GB/T 29528-2013 | Copper alloy forgings for valves, technical conditions | 2013-06-09 | 2014-03-01 |
Read that table as a checklist. Cast and forged versions of the same material are separate standards — carbon steel appears twice, as castings and as forgings; stainless steel appears twice, likewise. A purchase order that says "carbon steel" without saying which of the two has not finished the specification.
Four of the nine rows are the 2025-10-31 publication batch, effective 1 May 2026. If you are drafting a specification now, those are the numbers that will be current at the end of the year.
| Standard | Official title (translated) | Published | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB/T 13927-2022 | Industrial valves — pressure testing | 2022-12-30 | 2023-07-01 |
| GB/T 26480-2011 | Inspection and testing of valves | 2011-05-12 | 2011-10-01 |
| GB/T 26481-2022 | Fugitive emission testing of industrial valves | 2022-12-30 | 2023-07-01 |
| GB/T 40079-2021 | Classification and qualification procedure for fugitive emission testing of valves | 2021-04-30 | 2021-11-01 |
| GB/T 26479-2011 | Resilient-seated quarter-turn valves — fire test | 2011-05-12 | 2011-10-01 |
| GB/T 30832-2014 | Valves — test method for flow coefficient and flow resistance coefficient | 2014-05-06 | 2015-03-01 |
| GB/T 34878-2017 | Vacuum technology — valves — leak rate testing | 2017-11-01 | 2018-05-01 |
| GB/T 24919-2010 | Industrial valves — installation, use and maintenance, general requirements | 2010-08-09 | 2010-12-31 |
The pressure-testing and inspection rows are the two that belong in almost every order: GB/T 13927-2022 for the pressure test and GB/T 26480-2011 for inspection and testing generally. The fugitive-emission pair matters if the valve will sit in volatile service, and the fire-test standard is scope-limited to resilient-seated quarter-turn valves — which is exactly the kind of limit a general phrase like "fire-safe" hides.
| Standard | Official title (translated) | Published | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB/T 12221-2025 | Metal valves — face-to-face and end-to-end dimensions | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 26640-2011 | Specification for minimum shell wall thickness of valves | 2011-06-16 | 2012-09-01 |
These two decide whether a replacement valve will fit the pipework it is meant to replace. Face-to-face dimensions are the reason a valve that matches the specification in every other respect can still fail on installation.
Where a valve has a specific job, the register usually has a standard naming it. These are the ones in force at the date of the query:
| Standard | Official title (translated) | Published | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB/T 12232-2025 | General valves — flanged iron gate valves | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12233-2025 | General valves — iron globe valves and lift check valves | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12239-2008 | Industrial valves — metal diaphragm valves | 2008-12-23 | 2009-07-01 |
| GB/T 19672-2021 | Pipeline valves — technical conditions | 2021-03-09 | 2021-10-01 |
| GB/T 20173-2025 | Valves for the oil and gas industry | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 24925-2019 | Low-temperature valves — technical conditions | 2019-10-18 | 2020-05-01 |
| GB/T 46656-2025 | Valves for cryogenic vessels | 2025-10-31 | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 46814-2025 | Technical specification for power-station valves | 2025-12-31 | 2026-07-01 |
| GB/T 42177-2022 | Technical requirements and test methods for hydrogen valves at hydrogen refuelling stations | 2022-12-30 | 2023-04-01 |
| GB/T 42536-2023 | Combined valves for high-pressure vehicle hydrogen storage cylinders | 2023-05-23 | 2024-06-01 |
| GB/T 45027-2024 | Liquid hydrogen valves — general specification | 2024-12-31 | 2025-04-01 |
| GB/T 44519-2024 | Industrial valves — gearboxes for valves | 2024-09-29 | 2025-04-01 |
Two observations, both ours. First, the register's energy transition is visible: three of the twelve rows are hydrogen standards adopted between 2022 and the end of 2024, and the newest, liquid hydrogen valves, took effect in April 2025. Second, the gate and globe entries are iron-bodied. A buyer sourcing steel or stainless gate and globe valves will not find a national product standard naming them in this set, which is a question to put to the supplier rather than to assume an answer for.
| Standard | Official title (translated) | Published | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB/T 12222-2023 | Connections for multi-turn valve actuators | 2023-03-17 | 2023-10-01 |
| GB/T 12223-2023 | Connections for part-turn valve actuators | 2023-05-23 | 2023-12-01 |
| GB/T 24922-2010 | Technical conditions for flameproof valve electric actuators | 2010-08-09 | 2010-12-31 |
| GB/T 24923-2010 | Technical conditions for general-purpose valve electric actuators | 2010-08-09 | 2010-12-31 |
| GB/T 28270-2012 | Intelligent valve electric actuators | 2012-05-11 | 2012-12-01 |
| GB/T 22137.1-2008 | Valve positioners for industrial process control systems — Part 1: methods of evaluating the performance of pneumatic output valve positioners | 2008-06-30 | 2009-01-01 |
| GB/T 22137.2-2018 | Valve positioners for industrial process control systems — Part 2: methods of evaluating the performance of intelligent valve positioners | 2018-06-07 | 2019-01-01 |
If your order includes actuation, the interface standards (GB/T 12222-2023 and GB/T 12223-2023) are the ones to name: they are what decides whether an actuator from one supplier will mount on a valve body from another.
The single largest publication date in the in-force set is 31 October 2025, on which eleven valve standards were published. All eleven take effect on 1 May 2026. They include the carbon steel castings and forgings standards, the grey and ductile iron standards, the face-to-face dimension standard, both iron type standards and the oil and gas standard:
| Standard | Official title (translated) | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| GB/T 12221-2025 | Metal valves — face-to-face and end-to-end dimensions | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12226-2025 | General valves — grey iron castings, technical specification | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12227-2025 | General valves — ductile iron castings, technical specification | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12228-2025 | General valves — carbon steel forgings, technical specification | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12229-2025 | General valves — carbon steel castings, technical specification | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12232-2025 | General valves — flanged iron gate valves | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 12233-2025 | General valves — iron globe valves and lift check valves | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 20173-2025 | Valves for the oil and gas industry | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 46656-2025 | Valves for cryogenic vessels | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 46677-2025 | Valves for grain and oil machinery | 2026-05-01 |
| GB/T 20818.242-2025 | Industrial process measurement and control — data structures and elements in process equipment catalogues — Part 242: electronic data interchange for valves and actuator accessories | 2026-05-01 |
Why this matters commercially. If you have a specification, a drawing or a contract written against the previous edition of any of these, it stops matching the current register on 1 May 2026 — in some cases within days of a container being loaded. The practical step is to date the standard revision in the order, not just the standard number: a purchase order that says "to GB/T 12229" is ambiguous across that boundary, while one that says "to GB/T 12229-2025" is not.
Of the 142 records retrieved, 60 were withdrawn. A withdrawn record is not an error in the register — it is how the register shows that a standard has been superseded. It is also why a supplier citing a standard number tells you less than it appears to:
The register answers "what standard exists". It does not answer "is this factory any good", and the two are often confused in conversation. Four companions on this site:
Our own view, stated as ours: the register is a specification tool, not an assurance tool. It lets you write a precise order and lets a third party check a nameplate against a drawing. It does not verify a batch, and no standard number on a datasheet should be read as evidence that a particular batch was tested.
This list is ours. It follows from the register's structure rather than from any single standard:
For a quoted order that pins those items against a drawing, send the requirement with your drawing.
Only where a mandatory standard applies. In the register retrieved for this page, two of the eighty in-force standards were mandatory — one for fire dampers in building ventilation and smoke-exhaust systems and one for general valves in automatic sprinkler systems. Everything else in the register is a recommended standard. The site's guide to the GB, GB/T and GB/Z three-tier system sets out what that distinction means in practice.
GB/T 13927-2022, Industrial valves — pressure testing, published 30 December 2022 and effective 1 July 2023. Inspection and testing of valves generally is covered separately by GB/T 26480-2011.
GB/T 12220-2015, Industrial valves — marking, published 15 May 2015 and effective 1 February 2016. Terminology is a separate standard, GB/T 21465-2008, and model designation is another, GB/T 32808-2016.
No, and this is the most common specification gap in this register. Cast and forged versions are separate standards. Carbon steel is covered by GB/T 12229-2025 for castings and GB/T 12228-2025 for forgings; stainless steel by GB/T 12230-2023 for castings and GB/T 35741-2017 for forgings.
Eleven valve standards were published on a single date, 31 October 2025, and all eleven take effect on 1 May 2026. Chinese standards commonly carry a lead of several months between publication and effect — GB 15930-2024, for example, was published in November 2024 and takes effect on 1 March 2026. An order should therefore name the standard with its year.
All sources retrieved 1 October 2026. This page is an independent reading of the sources listed; the official pages themselves are the specification.
| Fact used on this page | Source |
|---|---|
| S1 — The entire standard register used on this page, retrieved 1 October 2026: 142 records whose official title contains the Chinese term for valve, of which 80 in force (78 recommended, 2 mandatory), 2 published but not yet effective and 60 withdrawn; and, for every standard named, its standard number, official Chinese title, national-standard nature (mandatory or recommended), status, publication date and effective date — including GB 15930-2024 and GB 5135.6-2018 (the two mandatory standards); the terminology, general-requirement, marking and designation standards; the nine material standards; the testing standards; the dimension standards; the twelve type and application standards; the seven actuation and control standards; and the eleven standards published on 31 October 2025 all effective 1 May 2026 | Standardization Administration of China / State Administration for Market Regulation — National Standards Information Public Service Platform, standard search, Chinese (retrieved 2026-10-01) https://std.samr.gov.cn/ |
| S2 — The query used for S1 was run against the platform's standard search endpoint with the Chinese term for valve as the search text | Standardization Administration of China — National Standards Information Public Service Platform, search query endpoint (retrieved 2026-10-01) https://std.samr.gov.cn/gb/search/gbQueryPage |