Standardisation has the potential to be an influential instrument in improving China’s economy, society and government in numerous dimensions, so long as standardisation policy is able to be effectively embedded in both other related policy areas at the national level and the international system of standardisation.
China is already investing heavily in research and development. In order to leverage the result of these activities into commercial applications, both the standardisation process and the resulting standards need to be used effectively as a channel for knowledge and technology transfer. Consequently, at the institutional level, the program level and the individual researcher’s level, closer links, particularly though use of incentives, need to be established.
This increase in research and development has resulted in a greater number of patents and other intellectual property rights (IPRs). In order to foster the broader diffusion of these IPRs, mechanisms have to be established which ensure an effective transfer, integration and general enforcement of IPRs. Furthermore, these mechanisms must take into account relevant IPRs in the rest of the world.
Aside from these supply-side orientated approaches, the effect of standards and standardization on the demand-side of the market and need to also be considered. In order to protect the interests of consumers, the government must use regulations to reduce risks and improve the quality of supplied products. Besides governmental regulations, standards can also help set regulatory framework conditions beneficial for the demand side while also reflecting the interests of suppliers. Europe’s “New Approach” is a good example of an effective trade-off between governmental regulation and self-regulation via standardisation. A new demand-oriented policy instrument which promotes innovation through the public procurement of innovative technologies, products and services is need as standards are an effective instrument to increase the efficiency of public procurement .
In order to integrate China into the international system of standardisation, the above mentioned approaches must be implemented in such a way as to strike an adequate balance between, on the one hand, promoting China’s economy and society, and, on the other, ensuring that these efforts do not negatively affect the other participants of international standardisation.
Firstly, China should be encouraged to transfer the relevant output of its R&D activities into international standards. However, this has to be realised in coordination with the R&D inputs of other international standardisation participants.
Secondly, the same principle has to be followed with regard to integrating the IPRs covering the R&D outputs, in order to avoid a bias in favour of the one or other country.
Thirdly, international standards should be integrated into China’s regulatory framework, which benefits both China itself, due to a more efficient regulatory framework, and the other participants in international standardisation, due to lowered technical barriers to trade.
Fourthly, international standards should be similarly integrated into China’s public procurement policy. International standards, which are an instrument for opening China’s public sector for suppliers from abroad vice versa, improve the efficiency of public procurement in China through increased transparency and, consequently, competitiveness of the public procurement process.
In summary, the effective integration into the international standardisation system will be a win-win situation so long as neither China nor the current dominant players try to exploit the options of the system at the costs of the other players.
