Is China Stacking the Technology Deck by Setting International Standards?

What seems to go largely unnoticed is a state-directed two-track strategy to gain a strategic and structural advantage by setting international technology standards. The process for negotiating and approving technical standards was developed primarily by the historical leaders in technology - the United States and Europe - as a process largely led by industry. A second track in Beijing's strategy to gain advantage through international technology standard-setting runs along the Belt and Road - specifically, its "Digital Silk Road." Beijing is utilizing Digital Silk Road projects to set de facto standards from the ground up through the export of its technologies. Beijing is going further by signing agreements with governments along the Digital Silk Road for the harmonization of standards, funding local standards certification centers, and translating Chinese-developed standards into local languages. China can point to wide-spread adoption of its technologies as indicators of a high-quality standard, which bolsters Chinese companies' case in international standards negotiations and boosts the marketability of their products. The place to begin is selecting strategically important emerging technologies, assessing the types of technical standards relevant to them, and determining where and how these standards will be established. Increased funding for standards-relevant agencies and support for increased agency and private-sector participation in SDOs would be helpful, as would incentives for creating the next generation of technology standards professionals.