Video component of the advanced audio-video coding, a national standard for digital TV and audio-video industries, was recently approved by the Standardization Administration of China for coming into effect on March 1, 2006.

With the support of the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry, a working group for digital audio-video standards was established in 2002. The AVS working group has also won the support by the Ministry of Science and Technology for its R&D efforts. In 2003, the State Development and Reform Commission made the standardization process for digital audio-video coding a major special project, with the participation of more than a hundred enterprises and research institutes. The project have been running smoothly, and the standard for video coding, a most important component, passed the tests in 2005 at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. The video coding standard was later approved by the Ministry of Information Industry in January 2006, and was enacted by the Standardization Administration of China in February for its expected enforcement on March 1, 2006.