The (future) role of China in ICT standardisation – A European perspective

• The Chinese and the European standardisation systems are described and discussed.
• A set of evaluation criteria for the two systems are identified.
• A SWOT analysis of the two systems is carried out.
• The European view of the Chinese system is discussed.

The paper argues that the Chinese standardisation system should not be perceived as a threat to international ICT standardisation and that the rather more relaxed attitude adopted by the EU is an adequate way forward. It claims that a co-operation based approach to the increasingly powerful relative newcomer is much more appropriate than one based on competition. These arguments are based on a discussion of the European and Chinese standardisation systems and on a subsequent SWOT analysis.