CSA Group, a leading global provider of testing and certification services, opened its first chemical testing lab for product evaluation in Shanghai on Monday.

"It will perform toxicity and chemical composition tests and evaluations for Chinese manufacturers exporting products to North America and Europe," said Adam Davies, director of the Consumer Product Evaluation, CSA Group, adding that it will also help overseas multinationals test products exporting?from China.

BASF launches engineering expansion projects in Shanghai

Eastman Chemical views China as key market?

"Our new chemical lab will assist manufacturers to meet the requirements of global markets and, at the same time, help make sure the products are safer for consumers," Davies said.

Insiders said the laws in Europe and North America are strict for chemical toxicity in products, which need evaluations before they are exported.

The new chemical lab has cutting-edge equipment capable of testing heavy metal content and other chemical components in consumer products to help clients meet requirements set by the European and North American markets.

Product evaluation clients in Shanghai are major retailers and buyers from North America and manufacturers in China that export products to global markets, said Liu Houjun, operation manager of the Consumer Product Evaluation, CSA China.

"The lab will allow us to expand our product testing and evaluation services to cover product toxicity tests, offering better and more comprehensive services to our clients," Liu said.

His words were echoed by Davies, who said the market in China is big with great potential. "We intend to expand our business into other parts of the country and even the rest of Asia in the next couple of years," he added.