The Commerce Department officially lifted its moratorium in a dramatic twist of Washington\’s long-standing sanctions on the Chinese telecom company Huawei, barring US companies from partnering with Huawei to create international technological specifications.
Analysts interpreted the change as an acknowledgment by the administration of President Donald Trump that it can not disregard Huawei\’s important position in creating the technological standards that are essential to emerging technology.
The new law, introduced by the Department of Commerce on June 15, amends the \”entity listing\” of Huawei to require American companies to cooperate with Huawei in developing requirements that will define the road\’s technological rules for 5 G and other emerging technologies.
Huawei \’s case isn\’t unanticipated. For years, China has concentrated on entering foreign standard-setting organizations, such as 3GPP and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which are rarely exposed to the media yet render some of the most important decisions on global telecommunications.
The esoteric-named infrastructure group, the 3rd Generation Partnership Program, or 3GPP, establishes the technological principles underlying the world\’s networking networks, the fundamental building blocks for product creation. 3GPP also helped develop innovations such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well as today\’s 5 G high-speed networks as the main national norm defining body over the past 20 years.
As of May, Chinese companies and government research institutes comprised the highest number of chairs or vice-chairs in 3GPP, occupying 16 of the 45 leadership roles available, according to VOA \’s count based on 3GPP data publication. In contrast, nine such leadership roles are filled by US firms.
For a long time, China\’s policymakers have seen technology as a gateway to the country\’s economic and military potential, and the government has financially funded companies like Huawei to become strong global rivals that can support the country\’s political and military goals. Critics claim that Beijing has the same attitude when it comes to professional requirements.
While U.S. companies are global champions in certain development fields, the U.S. can in future fall behind a concerted policy initiative in standards-setting (such as from China).
