China’s influence on standard setting is growing but not in the way you might expect. Technologically, China is undeniably a powerhouse. However, its influence on key areas of international digital standardization is stunted, and CIGI Senior Fellow Alex He examines this gap in this paper. He identifies three perspectives from which China’s lag can be understood:
- China’s influence is largely concentrated in conventional or legacy technology, not as much in emerging digital domains. This limitation holds China back on the world stage of standardization.
- China is a latecomer to digital standard setting and is often constricted by the more established state member-driven governing powers, as they dominate agenda setting and decision making.
- China’s actual influence is often overstated, with too much emphasis in global conversations being placed on its high-profile and sometimes controversial proposals, especially those such as facial recognition, which in turn creates a distorted impression of China’s dominance in digital standardization.
