No more cheap power banks from China?

(Dan Tri) - A new bill in China will require manufacturers to raise quality standards on their products, which could lead to a general increase in the price of Chinese-made power banks.

Power banks have become a popular accessory in our country thanks to the variety of designs and prices. Most of the power banks in the Vietnamese market come from China, with cheap prices and easy access.

However, a draft law about to be passed by the Chinese government could cause the price of backup batteries to increase, affecting users in Vietnam as well.

Power bank models from China are likely to increase in price due to having to meet high safety standards from the Chinese government (Photo: NYT).

Accordingly, a draft law proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will require all power banks manufactured in the country to publicly disclose the type of battery technology used, the date of manufacture and provide recommendations on safe shelf life.

In addition, the new regulation also requires that backup batteries must “not burn, not catch fire, not crack and not leak” even in situations where the battery is short-circuited or overused, or used in harsh conditions such as high pressure and temperature.

The new regulations, if approved, will require dozens of technical improvements on power bank models made in China, said the China Institute of Electronics Standardization, an agency under MIIT.

The new law will require Chinese power bank manufacturers to significantly raise safety standards when producing power banks, leading to increased production costs and higher prices when the products hit the market.

This will certainly affect product prices in Vietnam, in the context that most backup batteries in our country's market come from China.

Currently, only power banks that meet 3C safety standards (China Compulsory Certification, a mandatory certification system for electronic devices in China) are allowed on flights in China.

This causes many travelers who are using backup batteries that do not meet 3C standards or old generation backup batteries to be confiscated at the airport because they are not allowed on the plane.

Power banks that do not meet 3C standards are also banned from sale in China.

Once the draft law is passed, Chinese authorities will issue a new standard to replace the current 3C standard. The government will give manufacturers six to 12 months to bring their products up to the new standard, helping to smooth the transition to safety standards.

New safety standards for power banks in China have been introduced after a series of power bank explosions on planes threatened aviation safety.

Even at the end of January, an Air Busan (South Korea) plane was burned down, the cause of which was determined to be an explosion of a spare battery in a passenger's luggage. Fortunately, the incident did not cause any casualties, but caused serious economic damage.

In 2025, a series of Chinese technology companies recalled many models of backup batteries sold on the market due to the risk of the devices exploding, many of which were sold in Vietnam.

If the draft law is passed, technology companies in China can produce backup battery models exclusively for the domestic market with high safety standards, while export products will have lower standards, helping to keep prices low enough to reach users.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/se-khong-con-pin-sac-du-phong-gia-re-den-tu-trung-quoc-20251201002350193.htm