IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/devchg/v52y2021i5p1196-1221.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Externalization of China's Technical Standardization Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Tim Nicholas Rühlig
  • Tobias ten Brink

Abstract

International technical standardization has always been shaped by the externalization of the domestic standard systems of the most technologically advanced countries. China's growing technological footprint is no exception, and it has the potential to significantly reshape international technical standard setting. In contrast particularly to European standardization, which is realized through coordinated private self‐regulation, China has adopted a state‐centric approach. Based on the international and comparative political economy literature on China's global externalization, and through research on technical standardization, this article investigates 5G standard setting within formal international standard‐developing organizations and de facto standardization of railways within the Belt and Road Initiative. By triangulating data from interviews, policy documents and other primary and secondary sources, the article systematically analyses China's standardization practices, which also affords insight into the implications for international standardization.

Suggested Citation

  • Tim Nicholas Rühlig & Tobias ten Brink, 2021. "The Externalization of China's Technical Standardization Approach," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(5), pages 1196-1221, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:52:y:2021:i:5:p:1196-1221
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12685
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12685
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/dech.12685?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tim Büthe & Walter Mattli, 2011. "The New Global Rulers: The Privatization of Regulation in the World Economy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9470.
    2. Matthew D. Stephen & Michal Parízek, 2019. "New Powers and the Distribution of Preferences in Global Trade Governance: From Deadlock and Drift to Fragmentation," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(6), pages 735-758, November.
    3. Jeffrey Henderson & Richard P. Appelbaum & Suet Ying Ho & Jeffrey Henderson & Richard P. Appelbaum & Suet Ying Ho, 2013. "Globalization with Chinese Characteristics: Externalization, Dynamics and Transformations," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 44(6), pages 1221-1253, November.
    4. Flynn Murphy, 2017. "China's Silicon Valley," Nature, Nature, vol. 545(7654), pages 29-31, May.
    5. Eve Fouilleux & Allison Loconto, 2017. "Voluntary standards, certification, and accreditation in the global organic agriculture field: a tripartite model of techno-politics," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(1), pages 1-14, March.
    6. Butollo, Florian, 2021. "Digitalization and the geographies of production: Towards reshoring or global fragmentation?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 259-278.
    7. Stephen, Matthew D. & Parízek, Michal, 2019. "New Powers and the Distribution of Preferences in Global Trade Governance: From Deadlock and Drift to Fragmentation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 24(6), pages 735-758.
    8. Graz,Jean-Christophe, 2019. "The Power of Standards," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108499866, October.
    9. Nicholas R. Lardy, 2019. "The State Strikes Back: The End of Economic Reform in China?," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 7373, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew D. Stephen & Kathrin Stephen, 2020. "The Integration of Emerging Powers into Club Institutions: China and the Arctic Council," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 11(S3), pages 51-60, October.
    2. Cantero Gamito, Marta, 2023. "The influence of China in AI governance through standardisation," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    3. Stephen, Matthew D. & Stephen, Kathrin, 2020. "The Integration of Emerging Powers into Club Institutions: China and the Arctic Council," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(S3), pages 51-60.
    4. Jean-Christophe Graz & Nicole Helmerich & Cécile Prébandier, 2020. "Hybrid Production Regimes and Labor Agency in Transnational Private Governance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 307-321, March.
    5. Cesare A.F. Riillo & Kai Jakobs, 2023. "Too many or too few Standards Setters? Evidence from the Performance of Firms engaged in Standardization," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 2106-2131, December.
    6. Moritz Böhmecke-Schwafert & Knut Blind, 2023. "The trade effects of product market regulation in global value chains: evidence from OECD and BRICS countries between 2000 and 2015," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 50(2), pages 441-479, May.
    7. German Arana‐Landin & Waleska Sigüenza & Beñat Landeta‐Manzano & Iker Laskurain‐Iturbe, 2024. "Circular economy: On the road to ISO 59000 family of standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1977-2009, May.
    8. David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2023. "Trading places: Mobility responses of native and foreign-born adults to the China trade shock," POID Working Papers 074, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    9. Mingtang Liu, 2024. "Amplified State Capitalism in China: Overproduction, Industrial Policy and Statist Controversies," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 55(2), pages 191-218, March.
    10. Justus Baron & Jorge Contreras & Martin Husovec & Pierre Larouche, 2019. "Making the Rules: The Governance of Standard Development Organizations and their Policies on Intellectual Property Rights," JRC Research Reports JRC115004, Joint Research Centre.
    11. António Afonso & Maria João Guedes & Pankaj C. Patel, 2021. "Labour Productivity in State-Owned Enterprises," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 63(3), pages 450-465, September.
    12. Blind, Knut & Petersen, Sören S. & Riillo, Cesare A.F., 2017. "The impact of standards and regulation on innovation in uncertain markets," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 249-264.
    13. Bayer, Patrick & Marcoux, Christopher & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2013. "Leveraging private capital for climate mitigation: Evidence from the Clean Development Mechanism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 14-24.
    14. Justo-Hanani, Ronit & Dayan, Tamar, 2014. "The role of the state in regulatory policy for nanomaterials risk: Analyzing the expansion of state-centric rulemaking in EU and US chemicals policies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 169-178.
    15. Théodore Nikiema & Eugène C. Ezin & Sylvain Kpenavoun Chogou, 2023. "Bibliometric Analysis of the State of Research on Agroecology Adoption and Methods Used for Its Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-18, November.
    16. Sandra Lavenex & Flavia Jurje, 2021. "Opening‐up labor mobility? Rising powers' rulemaking in trade agreements," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 598-615, July.
    17. Francesco Macheda, 2020. "Il ruolo delle imprese a conduzione statale nella lotta della Cina contro il COVID-19 (The role of State-Owned Enterprises in China's fight against the coronavirus disease)," Moneta e Credito, Economia civile, vol. 73(290), pages 111-139.
    18. Loren Brandt & Gueorgui Kambourov & Kjetil Storesletten, 2018. "Barriers to Entry and Regional Economic Growth in China," Working Papers tecipa-622, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    19. Thomas, Alban & Lamine, Claire & Allès, Benjamin & Chiffoleau, Yuna & Doré, Antoine & Dubuisson-Quellier, Sophie & Hannachi, Mourad, 2020. "The key roles of economic and social organization and producer and consumer behaviour towards a health-agriculture-food-environment nexus: recent advances and future prospects," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 101(1), August.
    20. Xiaohua Yang & Clyde D. Stoltenberg, 2013. "Chinese multinationals and the state: an institutional perspective," Chapters, in: John Farrar & David G. Mayes (ed.), Globalisation, the Global Financial Crisis and the State, chapter 4, pages 72-93, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:52:y:2021:i:5:p:1196-1221. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0012-155X .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.