China's emergence as manufacturer to the world made the country a key player in the setting of lucrative global technology standards, according to the president of the RFID China Forum.
The mainland's efforts to promote its own standards have suffered well-publicised setbacks, in particular its home-grown wireless networking standard and alternative DVD technology.
Nevertheless, a large domestic market and growing economic muscle have made China a strong collaborative partner for other north Asian countries that see an opportunity to reduce dependency on patented western technologies.
'Eventually, if China wants to do something, then its market share will define the standard. It is too early to say what the de facto standard is if [China is not taken into account],' forum president Edward Zeng said last week.
In addition, collaboration between China, Japan and South Korea, established by a third ministerial meeting in July, would put northeast Asia in a strong position to influence which standards would become truly global, he said.
RFID's (radio frequency identification) application in global supply chain management systems meant that Asian countries had a vested interest in ensuring that whatever system they adopted was compatible with the needs of global purchasers.
