Naomi Wilson is senior director of policy for Asia at the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a global tech trade association headquartered in Washington, DC.
With mistrust pervading the U.S.-China relationship, it seems that nearly any Chinese action stokes suspicions of malicious intent, especially anything involving advanced technology. As 5G, AI, and emerging technology have become buzzwords, policymakers have started to pay more attention to a previously obscure piece of the technology development process: technical standards.
In particular, U.S. officials have been concerned about China’s increased participation in technical standards development work and the government’s forthcoming plan, China Standards 2035. In a climate of heightened fear and uncertainty, it is easy to see boogeymen lurking behind every corner. As policymakers seek to separate true threats from long shadows, it is important to distinguish Chinese posturing and proclamations from real risks. In short, don’t believe China’s own hype.
As policymakers have become increasingly concerned about the potential connection between technical standards and China’s technological advantage, focus on China Standards 2035 has heightened. However, in order to assess these concerns, it is important to first understand the international standards system. The technical standards community lives by the tenets of industry leadership, openness, rules-based, consensus decision making, and voluntary adoption of international standards.
As policymakers have become increasingly concerned about the potential connection between technical standards and China’s technological advantage, focus on China Standards 2035 has heightened. However, in order to assess these concerns, it is important to first understand the international standards system. The technical standards community lives by the tenets of industry leadership, openness, rules-based, consensus decision making, and voluntary adoption of international standards.
The whole system rests on the premise that any interested stakeholder can come to the table to cooperate and compete, proposing contributions that enable products and services to work for consumers around the globe while safeguarding against undue dominance of any one player. Consumers reap the benefits of this everyday—for example, international standards ensure that your laptop can connect to Wi-Fi in the United States and Japan; or that an HDMI cable can plug into any TV, regardless of brand name. That’s the goal of standards development—to enable interoperability across markets, so that consumers and companies can take full advantage of the latest technology at competitive prices. READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment