China Standard Time: The Boundary of Techno-Nationalism in Mega-Regionals

Liu, Han-Wei

China Standard Time: The Boundary of Techno-Nationalism in Mega-Regionals

Prepared for “Governing Science and Technology in the Mega-RTA Era: Regulatory Divergence and Convergence”, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, November 17-18, 2016

26 Pages Posted: 13 Feb 2018 Last revised: 23 Sep 2020

See all articles by Han-Wei Liu

Han-Wei Liu

Singapore Management University - Yong Pung How School of Law; Monash University

Date Written: October 1, 2016

Abstract

The emergence of China’s indigenous standards has raised concerns within trade community. Focusing on the compatibility of such Chinese made standards with the WTO laws, existing legal literature seem to see China’s indigenous standards as being oriented towards ‘techno-nationalism’, thereby posing a credible threat to international economic order. By revisiting the case of the WAPI, one of the most (in)famous Chinese indigenous standards in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, this Article contends that the threat of China’s indigenous standards policy to the global trading system may be less serious than some had thought because of the contextual factors and new rules introduced through trade and investment laws in the mega-regionalism.

Keywords: China, WAPI, Techno-Nationalism, Technical Regulations, Standards, WTO, TBT

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Liu, Han-Wei, China Standard Time: The Boundary of Techno-Nationalism in Mega-Regionals (October 1, 2016). Prepared for “Governing Science and Technology in the Mega-RTA Era: Regulatory Divergence and Convergence”, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, November 17-18, 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3116113