In high-tech areas, China outstrips the Europeans.
(Photo: dpa)
Brussels German industry fears losing its advantage in international standardization. “Especially when it comes to the standardization of future technologies, Europe runs the risk of being left behind by China,” says a paper by the Federation of German Industries (BDI), which is available to the Handelsblatt.
In fact, the Chinese now head many of the relevant bodies. In the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the number of Chinese secretariats grew from six in 2000 to 79 in 2019. While Germany is dominant in classic mechanical engineering areas, the People’s Republic has a strong position in the areas of software and artificial intelligence ( AI) developed.
However, Germany does not want to admit defeat and relies on European cooperation: “The German standardization roadmap for artificial intelligence should also serve as a blueprint for the identification of innovative standardization projects at European level,” the BDI paper continues.
The European Commission wants to present a standardization strategy on Wednesday. So far, the topic has hardly been considered politically, standardization is primarily a matter for companies and the standardization organizations.
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But as Beijing moves strategically and consolidates its own role in international standardization, Europeans feel compelled to react. “German industry is following the targeted international dissemination of state-driven, national technology standards from China with great concern,” BDI President Siegfried Russwurm told Handelsblatt. “There is a risk of fragmentation of technical market access conditions.”
On the one hand, the BDI wants to slow down China. According to Russwurm, concrete measures are necessary, such as how the EU wants to counter the spread of Chinese standards as part of the Chinese Silk Road Initiative. On the other hand, the BDI President relies on cooperation with the competitor: “It makes sense to invest more in European-Chinese cooperation in the development of international standards.”
One way could be for the EU Commission to become more involved in standardization itself. This could advance strategically important standardization projects more quickly. However, the industry is resisting this: “The excessive ambition of the EU Commission to develop technical specifications itself in the future is not justified,” says the BDI paper. Technical expertise and many years of experience in the industry are required.
>> Read here: How the EU wants to defend its power in standardization
However, for many standardization projects there are too few experts from European business to shape the standard at European level. The Chinese often fill the gap. The standardization industry is therefore demanding that companies be able to have the costs of their involvement in standardization committees reimbursed.
More: China is reaching for the industry norm – and German companies are at a disadvantage