China Breathing Down America’s Neck in Race for Tech Standardization

Setting standards for emerging technologies has historically been dominated by the United States, Germany and Japan — and those countries have reaped the profits, said Angelo Katsoras, National Bank of Canada’s geopolitical analyst, in a report, Pamela Heaven reported for the Posthaste column of Financial Post.

China officially launched its China Standards 2035 strategy in 2018, an action plan to establish the country as a global leader in the development of emerging-technology standards, AI included.

When a country’s companies set standards in a sector, they gain a competitive advantage and generate billions in licensing fees and intellectual property rights.

IBM Corp., for example — which holds 100,000 patents — earned $366 million last year from IP licensing, Katsoras said.

“Setting the next generation of global technology standards is not just a technical contest; it is also a strategic battle with significant geopolitical ramifications,” he said.

“The country that comes out on top will gain disproportionate influence over how key emerging technologies are governed, effectively compelling other nations to follow their lead in these sectors for many years to come.”

China officially launched its China Standards 2035 strategy in 2018, an action plan to establish the country as a global leader in the development of emerging-technology standards, including artificial intelligence (AI).

Evidence of its growing presence is increasingly visible in organizations that oversee international standards.

Until recently, the U.S. assumed its dominance in these bodies was secure, but China has steadily been gaining influence. Over the past two decades, the country has expanded its leadership roles at the influential International Organization for Standardization from 21 to 373 — overtaking Japan, France and the United Kingdom.