Final Report Summary - CHINA EU STANDARDS (China EU information technology standards research partnership)
This project promotes research collaboration and engagement between research and policy in relation to Information Technology (IT) standardisation in China and Europe - a question that will have an important bearing upon the global economy in the 21st century.
The People's Republic of China (hereafter China) has in recent years begun to be remarkably active in a number of areas of ICT interoperability standards. This raises a number of issues for China about standardisation processes: their standardisation strategy and its relationship with technology promotion policy. The outcome of these processes could have important consequences for the global ICT market and for the European economy and are flagged as being of particular interest to the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) Information Society Technologies (IST) programme.
This project brings together leading European and Chinese centres for research into ICT interoperability standards to undertake a comparative examination of ICT standardisation processes and associated policies between EU and China. The project has developed a knowledge network of leading players in the field, within Europe, China and beyond. The project examines the new ICT standardisation activity emerging in China, apparently linked to its goals to promote indigenous technology. It compares these emerging standardisation processes with those that have emerged and are being currently pursued by European players.
A set of empirical studies has been undertaken, drawn from the areas of standardisation flagged in the FP7 IST programme as bearing critically upon European technology and industrial strategy. The cases selected are: third and fourth generation mobile telephony and audio-visual codecs and mobile broadcasting. The studies examine the standardisation approach adopted; the strategies of public policy, technical and industrial players in relation to standards; the likely implementation and uptake of standards; and, their outcomes for new technological innovation and markets.
Analysis has sought in particular to interrogate whether the outcomes will be open standards, alignment between regional economies, competitive standards processes leading to so-called 'standards wars' or the fragmentation of global markets. Attention has been paid to processes of social learning by standardisation bodies, technology and industrial players and policy actors.
Here China in particular has demonstrated a willingness and ability to undertake coordinated initiatives to implement selected standards and build large-scale IT infrastructures (evinced by the implementation of a particular standard supported by the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television in a series of mobile broadcast initiatives and the perhaps unprecedented reorganisation of the mobile telephony market to achieve the competitive implementation of the three main third generation mobile phone standards). The study findings however point to the increasing globalisation of standardisation and associated innovation, calling into question simple presumptions about 'indigenous' (national/regional) technologies.
The study findings have been discussed with Chinese and European standards bodies and policy communities, who have assisted in explicating the policy implications. These have been refined and disseminated through two high-level policy workshops organised in Beijing (Dec 2009) and Brussels (February 2010). A programme of dissemination, conducted over the course of the project will be continued following completion of the action.
The People's Republic of China (hereafter China) has in recent years begun to be remarkably active in a number of areas of ICT interoperability standards. This raises a number of issues for China about standardisation processes: their standardisation strategy and its relationship with technology promotion policy. The outcome of these processes could have important consequences for the global ICT market and for the European economy and are flagged as being of particular interest to the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) Information Society Technologies (IST) programme.
This project brings together leading European and Chinese centres for research into ICT interoperability standards to undertake a comparative examination of ICT standardisation processes and associated policies between EU and China. The project has developed a knowledge network of leading players in the field, within Europe, China and beyond. The project examines the new ICT standardisation activity emerging in China, apparently linked to its goals to promote indigenous technology. It compares these emerging standardisation processes with those that have emerged and are being currently pursued by European players.
A set of empirical studies has been undertaken, drawn from the areas of standardisation flagged in the FP7 IST programme as bearing critically upon European technology and industrial strategy. The cases selected are: third and fourth generation mobile telephony and audio-visual codecs and mobile broadcasting. The studies examine the standardisation approach adopted; the strategies of public policy, technical and industrial players in relation to standards; the likely implementation and uptake of standards; and, their outcomes for new technological innovation and markets.
Analysis has sought in particular to interrogate whether the outcomes will be open standards, alignment between regional economies, competitive standards processes leading to so-called 'standards wars' or the fragmentation of global markets. Attention has been paid to processes of social learning by standardisation bodies, technology and industrial players and policy actors.
Here China in particular has demonstrated a willingness and ability to undertake coordinated initiatives to implement selected standards and build large-scale IT infrastructures (evinced by the implementation of a particular standard supported by the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television in a series of mobile broadcast initiatives and the perhaps unprecedented reorganisation of the mobile telephony market to achieve the competitive implementation of the three main third generation mobile phone standards). The study findings however point to the increasing globalisation of standardisation and associated innovation, calling into question simple presumptions about 'indigenous' (national/regional) technologies.
The study findings have been discussed with Chinese and European standards bodies and policy communities, who have assisted in explicating the policy implications. These have been refined and disseminated through two high-level policy workshops organised in Beijing (Dec 2009) and Brussels (February 2010). A programme of dissemination, conducted over the course of the project will be continued following completion of the action.