With the deepening of globalization, the right to set international standards plays an increasing role in global competition. Whoever holds the right to set international standards will have the initiative to compete on a global scale. Therefore, the world's developed economies, especially the developed countries in the West, attach great importance to the grasp of the right to set international standards, and have elevated it to the national strategic level. Especially today, with the rapid development of new technologies, actively participating in the formulation of international standards and striving to grasp the right to formulate international standards has become the priority choice of some countries, especially developed countries.
In recent years, although China has actively participated in the formulation of international standards, there is still a big gap compared with developed countries in the West. The proportion of international standards led by China is only about 2%. Therefore, how to break the dominant and monopoly position of Western countries in international standard-setting and improve the voice in international standard-setting has become an important issue facing China.
To grasp the power to set international standards, participants need to have strong comprehensive strength and hard skills such as leading industry technology, as well as superb participation and negotiation skills, as well as soft power to unite and coordinate other participants to support their own solutions.
First, the leading comprehensive strength is the foundation
Leading strength and technology is the basis for mastering the right to set international standards. Historically, the leading international standard-setters have been enterprises or countries with advanced technology and production and management capabilities. Since the Industrial Revolution, Western countries represented by Britain and the United States have mastered the right to formulate international standards by virtue of their strong industrial manufacturing capabilities, advanced production technology and management experience. More than 90% of the existing international standards are proposed and led by Western countries. Western countries, by virtue of the international standards they dominate, have the right to speak in almost all fields and have reaped great benefits from them.
In today's world, technology is playing an increasingly important role in setting international standards. Countries with the most advanced production and management technologies tend to have the most international standard-setting powers, while countries that do not have the core technology or are technologically backward can only be in a dominant position.
At the end of World War II, especially after the end of the Cold War, the United States dominated the formulation of most international standards and rules by virtue of its advanced technology. The United States, on the other hand, regards the right to set international standards as its core national interest, and uses it to maintain its hegemony in the world and strike at countries and companies that challenge its dominance.
For example, in the field of electronic information, the United States has the highest degree of development and leading technology, so it has a first-mover advantage and has the right to formulate and speak on international standards. When the United States felt that China might threaten its hegemony and dominance, it began to attack China with its technology and its dominant position in the industrial chain. The 2018 U.S. sanctions on ZTE occurred because China did not master the core and key technologies in the global semiconductor industry chain and was controlled by others.
By the same logic, if a country's technological leadership decreases or loses its leading edge, then its position and voice in the international standard-setting power will decline. Taking the field of electronic information as an example, with the development of Huawei and other enterprises and the gradual leading edge in technology, the United States' voice in this field has begun to decline.
In recent years, China's high-speed rail, smart grid, new energy vehicles, UHV transmission and other fields have developed rapidly, and its competitiveness in the world has been continuously improved. More and more Chinese companies are participating in the formulation of international standards. China also has more and more power to set international standards.
In March this year, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) officially released the world's first international standard for device-edge-cloud collaboration technology. This standard was proposed and led by China. The reason why China is leading rather than the United States is that China has the most advanced technology and production level in this field, while the United States is relatively backward in this field.
For example, China's Midea, Gree and other enterprises have also led and participated in the formulation of a large number of industry international standards by virtue of advanced technology and production capacity. These enterprises continue to increase R&D costs, upgrade production technology, apply for invention patents, and actively participate in the formulation of international standards, developing these technologies and patents into international standards, so as to improve their own global competitiveness and enhance China's voice in international standards.
Second, the competition between major powers is fierce
The dominance and control of international standard-setting can bring great benefits to the participants, so every country, especially the big countries, attaches great importance to this issue. Therefore, in the process of formulating standards, there will be fierce competition and even struggle between the participants.
In recent years, China has begun to occupy a leading position in some technical fields, and its position in the field of international standards has also been rising. The United States and other Western countries have begun to regard China as their main competitor and have adopted various means to restrict China's development, especially in the formulation of international standards.
Some scholars refer to this strategy adopted by the United States toward China as a "regulatory lockdown" strategy. The so-called "regulation" strategy, in terms of international standards, is to use its so-called international rules to restrain China's behavior and make China act within its limited framework. In June 2021 and February 2022, the United States passed the American Innovation and Competition Act and the American COMPETES Act, emphasizing the need to give full play to the influence and discourse power of the United States in the field of international standards, restrain and limit China's influence, and prevent China from dominating and dominating the right to set international standards. To this end, the United States has intensified its struggle for the leadership of the International Standards Organization in the name of emerging technology governance.
The U.S. Strategic Competition Act of 2021 makes it clear that the U.S. must hold the leadership of international standards organizations and the right to speak in the formulation of international standards, so as to formulate international rules and norms that are beneficial to itself. The United States is also keen to forge circles and alliances to develop and enforce international standards that it leads.
For example, in the field of digital currency, the United States, together with the rest of the G7, issued the so-called common guiding principles in 2021, thus launching a competition and scramble for international standards in the field of digital currency.
Not only in the field of technology, but also in the field of international economic and trade rules, there is also fierce competition among major powers in order to grasp the power to formulate international rules. For example, the role of state-owned enterprises in international economic and trade activities has always been regulated by the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). With the development of China's economy, the United States and other countries believe that China's state-owned enterprises are engaged in unfair competition on a global scale, and WTO rules cannot effectively deal with this problem. As a result, the United States has taken up a new approach and enlisted some countries to sign regional trade agreements such as the "United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement" (USMCA), imposing strict restrictions on state-owned enterprises in the agreement under the guise of "competitive neutrality", trying to construct new rules for state-owned enterprises, and using these rules to restrain China, and then curb China's development.
Third, active participation is important
It takes a long time for an international standard to be developed, with its established process. Since the development of standards is closely related to the interests of all parties, all parties involved will argue on the basis of reason. In this process, the parties involved need to consult and negotiate, and even fight.
For example, in the battle for Internet of Things standards, the selection of the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), etc., countries are expecting their own proposals or personnel to be selected, so they are engaged in fierce battles on various occasions. In other words, it is important to actively participate in the formulation of international standards, actively communicate with all parties, unite the forces that can be united, and strive for the support of the greatest majority.
Since most of the existing international standards are formulated by European and American countries, participants from these countries are very familiar with the rules, processes and negotiation skills of international standard setting. Most of the members of the leadership of the International Standards Organization are from Europe and the United States, and they have a wide range of contacts. In addition, the language communication between people in Western countries is also smoother, and it is easier to reach consensus. Therefore, European and American countries can often grasp the leading power of international standard-setting.
Other countries, on the other hand, are often at a disadvantage in the process of formulating international standards because they are not familiar with the process of participating in international standards and are not proficient in dealing with Western countries, so it is difficult to break the existing standards formulated by Western countries and lead the formulation of international standards that are beneficial to their own side.
Taking Germany as an example, the reason why Germany has a great influence in the formulation of international standards is largely due to its active participation in international standard-setting activities. Germany has the largest number of secretariats of various international standards organizations. By virtue of its position in the international standards organization, Germany can set more favorable conference topics and agendas, and finally form international standards that are beneficial to the country.
The United States also attaches great importance to its participation in international standard-setting and has taken a variety of measures. This includes emphasizing that it should become the preferred venue for international standard-setting activities, and provide venues, funds and other facilitation for the conduct of various activities; Cooperate with allies such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, and use their power and influence in international standards organizations to develop international standards that benefit the United States; Make full use of multilateral cooperation platforms such as the G7 and the G20.
Recently, the United States' interest in and intent to participate in international standards organizations has been highlighted by its return to UNESCO. During the Trump administration, the United States withdrew from UNESCO. In July of this year, the United States returned to the organization. The United States believes that if the United States does not participate in this organization, the United States will be replaced by China, and China will take the lead in setting international standards that are beneficial to itself, which is unacceptable to the United States. It can be assumed that the reason why the United States chose to rejoin UNESCO is also to compete with China in international standard-setting.
In the past, due to the short time of participating in the activities of the International Standards Organization, the unfamiliarity with the operating rules and processes of the International Standards Organization, and the lack of sufficient contacts, China played more of an unknown role.
In recent years, with the improvement of China's economic strength and the development of high-tech industries, China has begun to participate more in the formulation of international standards, and the number of people from China in the negotiation venues for formulating international standards has gradually increased. Chinese participants have also become familiar with various rules and procedures, and have begun to unite like-minded people to act together, which has led to more and more international standard-setting power and dominance in China.
Source: Globe Magazine Issue 25
Author: Wu Guoding
Editor: Wang Sheng
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