State and Commercial Enterprises in China's Technical Standard Strategies

Yu Zhou

《The China Review An Interdisciplinary Journal on Greater China》 6卷1期 (2006/05) Pp. 37-65

摘要

This paper analyses the context of the emergence of China's technical standard strategies and the role of Chinese state and commercial enterprises in motivating and implementing such a strategy. It examines the theoretical debate on technonationalism and technoglobalism and contrast the most influential explanations for China's standard strategy both within and outside China. The paper argues first that nationalistic ideology aside, current Chinese technonationalism is more a reaction to the advance of ＂technoglobalism,＂ in which ＂globalism＂ often becomes a cover for ＂global corporatism,＂ seeking to perpetuate the interests of the largest western corporations through control of technology paths. Secondly, I argue that even though the Chinese government conceives a need to be involved in the international technical standard process, it is far from capable of dictating a course of action given the competitive nature of China's high-technology industries and complex and conflicting interest groups represented by different commercial and governmental agencies. The paper analyses the positions of the Chinese government and of Chinese enterprises on some key technology standard strategy concerns. It concludes that the government efforts are often not synchronized, consistent or enforced. The commercial interests of Chinese firms, rather than nationalist ideology or national security concerns, are likely to be the most persistent force behind China's drive to set technology standards.