China is still using an outdated standard that Europe adopted in 1995 for its escalators, but a new one is expected to be issued in the near future, said an expert.

Passengers are directed at Guomao subway station on Line 10 of Beijing's underground network on July 6, 2011. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The new national standard for escalators was based on what Europe used at the end of 2009, the Beijing News reported Friday, citing Chen Fengwang, secretary-general of the National Technical Committee 196 on Elevators Standardization Administration of China.

Chen's remarks came in response to criticism expressed online about China's escalator standard lagging 10 years behind international standards and being too lax, after the issue came under the spotlight in the wake of recent escalator accidents.

China has put more than 300,000 new escalators in use in recent years, accounting for more than half of the world's total, the paper said.

And since 2005, 40 escalator accidents have occurred and 30 people have died a year on average.

A draft of the new standard took the committee about one year and a half, and is waiting for approval.