China telecommunications watchdogs have drawn up a draft standard on mobile phone radiation, incorporating the European criterion.

The draft had been delivered to the State Administration of Standardization for approval, said He Guili, director of China Telecommunication Technology Laboratories (CTTL).

He said all mobile phones on the Chinese market would be required to meet the standard once approved.

Mobile radiation is believed to be a health risk and Chinese regulators are aiming for a limit to 2.0 watt/kg, the same as the European Union standard and a little higher than the U.S. 1.6 watt/kg.

Watt/kg is the unit used to evaluate mobile radiation: the higher the figure, the higher the radiation level. The US standard is 1.6 watt/kg and the European standard is 2.0 watt/kg.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health had previously proposed that the limit should be 1.0 watt/kg in order to ensure harmless mobile use.

"The present draft standard of 2.0 watt/kg is made with the present manufacturing technology in consideration," said He, who participated in the draft's writing.

If the radiation level was too low, the phone would fail to support some functions, he said. The World Health Organization and many international organizations had also adopted the 2.0 watt/kg standard.

The final standard in China, if set at 2.0 watt/kg, would not affect most Chinese mobile manufacturers as most of their products were below 2.0 watt/kg, he said.

China has more than 416 million mobile subscribers, making it the largest mobile phone market in the world.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2006)