The U.S. FAA has signed an agreement with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to implement airworthiness procedures under the U.S.-China Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA). BASA is a framework for the FAA and CAAC to recognize both nations' regulatory systems with respect to the airworthiness of aviation products and articles, the agency said.

Announced Friday, the Implementation Procedures for Airworthiness (IPA) document follows through on the commitment the FAA and CAAC made in 2005 with the establishment of the BASA, paving the way for the aviation authorities to leverage the each other’s approvals on design, production, airworthiness and continued airworthiness. The IPA enables both the FAA and the CAAC to submit applications for validation for all categories of aviation products and addresses globalization challenges, the FAA said.

The agency added the IPA supports its efforts to “refresh” its certification procedures and promote a more seamless transfer of products and approvals globally.

The announcement followed last month’s signings of agreements among the FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) during the annual Certification Management Team meeting in Ottawa, Canada. Those agreements marked a major step toward implementating a collaboration strategy formed in 2016 to increase the level of safety cooperation among the regulators, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association said.