China sets standards along New Silk Road

Uganda’s former Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda is shaking hands with a Chinese robot connected to the Net via the 5G standard in Kampala. The Chinese company ZTE brought the first 5G network to East Africa in 2020 and alongside introduced technical standards.

In China’s global trading empire, the country’s technical standards are increasingly dominant. This is helped by refraining from imposing ethical standards on countries of the Global South.

With the Silk Road project, China entered international cooperation as a major player in 2013 – and norms and standards have been an important part of the strategy from the beginning. „China plays an active role in setting standards within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative,“ says Tim Ruehlig from the Center for Geopolitics, Geo-economics and Technology at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). „This gives it increasing power and influence in the competition of digital technologies.“

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