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After nearly three decades of "ICT for development", the rollout of ICT backbone infrastructure remains challenging throughout Africa. African states do not only depend on the technology of foreign companies but must also seek external finance to pay for it. This dual dependency puts African governments in a vulnerable position, leading us to inquire: to what extent does the dual dependency on foreign finance and technology affect African agency in ICT infrastructure provider choice? The paper proposes a model that distinguishes between the agency of higher and lower income countries. Elaborating on the latter, the model assumes that the source of foreign ICT-related finance (i.e., China, World Bank, both, internal) determines whether the recipient state can exercise a weak, medium, or strong degree of agency in its ICT infrastructure provider choice. The paper further argues that the link between foreign finance and degree of agency is shaped by the digital development agenda of the donor. For instance, the model predicts that countries which predominantly received Chinese ICT finance possess weak agency when choosing an ICT infrastructure provider because China's digital development agenda ties the provision of finance to hiring a Chinese contractor. By examining the ICT-related financial inflows and geographical distribution of network equipment providers in African states, the paper shows that the source of finance affects the degree of agency and, subsequently, the choice of ICT infrastructure provider. However, the analysis also suggests a divide in African agency along former colonial lines. In fact, the model holds only for countries without colonial ties to France whereas former French colonies all contracted Huawei, regardless of ICT finance flows. • Proposes a model for African agency in choice of network equipment provider. • Development finance determines African agency in ICT infrastructure provider choice. • Digital development agendas of donors affect ICT infrastructure provider choice. • Geospatial mapping of fiber-optic cables sets Francophone states apart from others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's financial industries started the process of marketization only two decades ago, but by 2017 its financial technology or fin-tech sector had taken half of the global market. The exponential diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Chinese financial contexts have generated new organizational structures and socio-political relations that have the capacity to change China's position in the world economy. Drawing upon the sociological concept of institutionalization, this paper examines how the Chinese state has integrated ICT diffusion in its formal policies and its informal rules in China's financial development since 1991. Further, it addresses the political and socio-economic consequences of these developments. Based on the analyses of government documents and sources, trade journals, and statistic data from business databases, this paper divides the Chinese institutionalization of financial technologies into three stages and identifies the primary actors and paradigms for ICT diffusions in each stage. ICT diffusion has been constitutive but also disruptive to the existing financial policies, instrumental to the commercialization of state-owned banks, and has gradually transformed into a set of formal and informal rules accepted by a network of professionals, corporations, and government agencies. The institutionalization of ICT diffusion has engendered the continuous adjustment of financial policies and propelled innovations in China's financial economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to provide some explanation as to how demand-, supply- and institutions-related factors in China have affected the creation and diffusion of Internet of Things (IoT)-related products and services. Concerning demand side factors the paper demonstrates how potential market size and existing technology trajectory work in favor of IoT diffusion. As a related demand side factor the paper argues that, in terms of the technological trajectory, China has started farther from the frontier than most industrialized countries. The degree of incremental benefit from the IoT is thus higher in the country. As to the supply side factors, the article promotes an understanding of how Chinese technology companies have capitalized on a huge user base to develop IoT-based applications. It also suggests that technologies and expertise provided by foreign multinationals have also played crucial roles. Regarding formal institutions, the government's proactive policies have been a major factor in the IoT's evolution. It is also in the Chinese government's interest to develop IoT products to make censorship and surveillance more effective. Regarding informal institutions, Chinese consumers are less concerned than Westerners about being tracked and monitored, which provides a favorable condition for the adoption of IoT-enabled devices. Nonetheless, this condition is changing due to increasing abuse of consumer privacy. China and the U.S. are compared in terms of diffusion, key determinants, performance indicators and impacts of the IoT in order to understand the areas that China outperforms—and underperforms—the U.S. Some indicators are proposed to gauge the IoT-related performance and the impacts of the IoT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of things (IoT) has attracted a lot of attention. One IoT device is the smart speaker that is equipped with an integrated assistant controlled by spoken commands. In the global smart speaker market, Chinese brands account for a significant share. Since smart speakers have a natural advantage when collecting user data in diverse scenarios, privacy and personal information protection have become crucial issues for both smart speaker manufacturers and users in China. This paper applies the socio-technical system (STS) framework to portray the technology subsystem, the industry/market subsystem and the regulators, law/regulation subsystem that are related to smart speakers in China, and how they interact with each other. It also uses focus group discussions to understand the smart speaker users' privacy concerns and the smart speaker industry's implementation of personal information protection. By employing the document analysis method, this study analyzes the laws and regulations related to privacy and personal information protection in the context of AI and the IoT. In particular, the potential impacts of the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) on smart speakers are discussed in detail. With its goal of balancing personal information protection and technological development, this paper provides recommendations for the regulatory bodies and the smart speaker industry players in China that can shed light on other countries and regions. • China's smart speaker market is still expanding and is monopolized by three major brands. • The Cybersecurity Law (CSL), Data Security Law (DSL) and Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) have laid a legal foundation for cyber security, data governance and personal information protection in China. • Smart speaker users in China are mainly concerned about potential disruptions to their private lives and space, unequal privacy policies, opaque and excessive information collection and processing, as well as data security and integrity. • The PIPL specifies the rights of individuals and the obligations of information processors. It may temporarily burden the smart speaker players, but it can help foster the sound development of the smart speaker industry in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latecomers from Asia—China and Korea—started to participate in information and communication technology (ICT) global standardizations as they accumulated technological capabilities. We observed the current situation of ICT global standardizations in those countries by analyzing the mobile communications standards, WCDMA and LTE, and derived interesting findings and meaningful implications from the analysis. First, this paper provides evidence of the differences in Chinese and Korean standard strategies; China is creating its own standard whereas Korea goes with global standardization. Second, this paper shows the subsequent results of the different strategies. In detail, we conducted an analysis based on (declared) essential patents in WCDMA and LTE. The results indicate that China and Korea hold a significant number of essential patents and their numbers compete with those of leading countries. However, the analysis shows that Korea accumulated domestic knowledge that enables the country to actively participate in standardization,but China still heavily relies on foreign knowledge, probably because China is attempting to create its own standard and accumulating knowledge takes a long time despite its efforts.Our findings have several implications for leading countries and other following countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been many attempts for ICT standardization in China. Among them, this paper deals with information security standards. Although information security is often mentioned regarding China's ICT standardization, it has been rarely examined per se. While most studies on China's ICT standardization focus on economic aspects (e.g. increased bargaining power) or the government's role, this paper draws on legal aspects. We select WAPI and ZUC for case studies, and examine their legal aspects, particularly from the perspective of WTO's TBT (technical barriers to trade) principles. We have found that China's standardization strategy becomes international-bound and, in fact, the manner in which the Chinese government handles standardization projects has become refined, flexible, and communicative with foreign stakeholders. We see that the changes are responses to the trade concerns raised by foreign stakeholders in various TBT Committee meetings and bilateral meetings. In addition, the Chinese government appears to become market-oriented even in the field of information security where it previously maintained a rigid stance on the ground of national security. This paper points out that the changes are attributed to growing external pressure from foreign governments and firms as well as to internal efforts toward innovation based on indigenous technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Providing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to rural areas often involves a complex interplay among economic development, bureaucratic systems, technical training and support. Nowhere are these dynamics more pronounced than in China, where a wide range of economic and institutional factors characterize the highly uneven state of informatization 2 [2] Defined as the transformation of an economy and society through the effective deployment of information and communication technologies in business, social, and public functions (Qiang, Bhavnani, Hanna, Kimura, & Sudan, 2009). This paper uses the terms informatization and ICT interchangeably depending on the context. throughout the country. Through a case study on Guangdong Province, China, this paper offers an in-depth examination of institutional issues in rolling out advanced information services (such as Internet) in rural China. The experiences from Guangdong help identify a number of systemic issues: (1) inefficient and wasteful spending resulting from interdepartmental rivalry (2) lack of policy continuity and institutional learning (3) lack of accountability and credible measurements (4) central planning resulting in gap between services and local needs. This paper calls for more emphasis on outcome assessment and coordination. First of all, in order to reduce waste and more fully exploit the benefits of system-wide reform, the incorporation of better assessment methods into policy measures should precede large-scale network rollout. Meanwhile, high level officials should be appointed to coordinate various departments and legislation may help to achieve coordination and policy continuity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper forecasts 3G mobile subscription in mainland China while incorporating regional disparity. First, using stochastic frontier analysis, this paper tries to measure the relative market potential of 2G mobile service in 31 Chinese provinces. Second, this paper estimates diffusion parameters, including innovation coefficient, imitation coefficient and potential market size, of 31 provinces from 2G data. Then, this paper forecasts 3G mobile subscription using the original Bass model. In particular, this paper uses the market potential of each province in a modified Bass model in order to estimate the maximum level of 3G subscription. Finally, the paper presents meaningful implications for policy makers and mobile network operators in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper is a comparative analysis of the telecommunications policy-making process in China and India. Adopting an institutionalist perspective and multi-streams framework, the paper analyzes the formal structures, rule-making procedures and interest groups involved in telecommunications policy-making in the two countries, in terms of their evolution over the last two decades. Though the two systems began this period with a somewhat similar ministerial-bureaucratic decision-making model, and faced similar problems of assimilating new interest groups and responding to international pressures, the paper finds that the decision systems in the two countries evolved in significantly different directions. China''s telecommunications decision-making is significantly affected by the macro level political rearrangement and is more likely to be non-incremental. On the other hand, confronted by an increasingly litigious environment and a more fractious interest group culture, India represents a somewhat classical textbook case of incremental policy making. Nevertheless, numerous challenges remain in both countries, including institutional capacity and excessive regulatory deference to political authority. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There are unique and distinct institutional processes associated with the Chinese government''s support of the domestically developed third generation (3G) cellular standard, TD-SCDMA. After postponing several times, China awarded three third generation cellular licenses in January 2009: a TD-SCDMA license to China Mobile, a CDMA 2000 license to China Telecom and a WCDMA license to China Unicom. The Chinese government has demonstrated a clear bias in favor of TD-SCDMA. This article examines the role of formal and informal institutions in shaping the Chinese 3G landscape. This paper makes two contributions to the literature. First, this work extends studies on institutional theory focusing on standardization to the context of China. Second, unlike most ICT research which deals with standards originated in the West, this paper''s focus on developing country-originated standard provides novel and unique insights related to institutional processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The restructuring in the Chinese telecom sector in 2008 has prompted heated discussion among telecom analysts and experts. Past research tends to take an optimistic view that China has embarked on a liberalizing route, resulting in utopian projections that domestic competition and foreign liberalizing forces would lead to the emergence of a telecom market operated primarily under the principles of free market economics in the near term. This paper, instead, argues that current telecom restructuring was largely driven by domestic agendas. Drawing from the bargaining perspective, this paper finds that, while it is true that market mechanisms play a significant role in the telecom industry, the impact of competition and privatization on the telecom market ultimately depends on the political endowments of Chinese society. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In 2004, China attempted to set its national standard for mobile security (wireless LAN authentication and privacy infrastructure (WAPI)) which was to be used for wireless LAN. In 2005, Korea implemented a national standard for the mobile Internet platform (wireless Internet platform for interoperability (WIPI)). This paper examines and compares the two cases in terms of the role of government, characteristics of each standard and the process of standards setting. Despite some similarities of ‘aiming for a de jure national standard’, ‘government-initiated’ and ‘anticipatory’, the outcomes of the two efforts are different. WIPI was ratified in Korea, while WAPI was indefinitely postponed as the national standard and failed to be ratified as an international standard. It is contended here that the different outcomes are attributed to differences in the openness of the standards and of institutional processes of standardization, combined with the government role and the timing of market entry. In the cause of national security, China adhered to the original goal of WAPI; in the WIPI case, compromises were made to satisfy to some extent the various demands from many stakeholders despite the original goal being undermined. The findings from this comparison reinforce findings by previous studies on open standard and open standardization processes. This paper makes a unique contribution in that it first examines the international standards-setting attempts by newcomers, China and Korea, in the race for international standards. They used to be standard adopters but now want to become standard setters. Given the narrowing gap of technological capabilities at the global level and the huge size of markets in countries like China, these standards challenges from newcomers are not one-off episodes, but will happen repeatedly in the future. Further research is required in this area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The diffusion and adoption of modern information technology provide new chance for China to close urban-rural income gap. This paper uses China's provincial panel data from 2002 to 2013 to investigate the effect of computer penetration on rural residents' income. A public program aiming to connect every village with broadband Internet and other rural facilities provides plausibly exogenous variation in rural residents' availability and adoption of the broadband Internet, which is used to explore the instrument variable for rural computer penetration. The results show that rural computer penetration tends to increase rural residents' income over time, but the average effect remains limited. The dynamic panel threshold effects model, which allows for both the threshold variable and other covariates to be endogenous, is further used to explore the constraints of the income-increase effect of rural computer penetration. It shows that the effect is at least doubled over the average effect estimated from instrument variables method, once the digital divide causes are removed. Our findings have important implications for the government to increase rural residents' income and reduce urban-rural income gap by encouraging rural computer usage and removing the digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is generally agreed that governments should have some roles in the development of broadband, questions about the specific role of governments remain unanswered, particularly from the perspective of developing countries. This paper evaluates China’s evolving broadband policy by developing a two-dimensional analytical framework, with the different stages of broadband development represented by columns and the four components of broadband ecosystem represented by rows. Generally speaking, China's telecommunications development has been driven by investments from government-allied entities and features a strong industrial policy. However, the Chinese government has chosen a somewhat soft-intervention approach in broadband development and relied on the market itself to grow by creating a competitive market structure. As the market has recently evolved to a certain degree of saturation, there is a seemingly shift of emphasis in China's broadband policy from infrastructure buildup and service provision to application creation and user demand stimulation. However, China’s broadband future is uncertain due to unsettled but important institutional and financial issues. Policy changes appear not to keep up with the broadband ecosystem evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the evolution of China's technology standardization policy system in the period from 1978 to 2021. The standardization policy system comprising the supply, demand, and environment policy tool types has evolved during standardization development process, which includes three sequential stages: 1) the following-up stage, 2) the catch-up stage, and 3) the upgrading stage. In responding to changes in institutional, economic and technological contexts, the policy orientation has transformed from supporting the government-controlled adoption and standardization of foreign technologies in the following-up stage of standardization development process to developing indigenous standards owning independent intellectual property rights (IPRs) through the government-led standardization system in the catch-up stage, and to international standardization adopting both government-led and market mechanisms in the upgrading stage. In this process, the Chinese Government continued to offer policy support to but tended to relax its control over standardization. Of the three policy tool types, the supply type have remained the dominant ones; the weight of the environment-type of tools tended to decrease, and that of the demand-type of tools tended to increase. Further, the government rationalized the mix of each type of policy tools as the standardization contexts changed. From the Chinese experience, theoretical prescriptions for how standardization policy systems evolve in latecomers are developed. Practical implications for latecomer countries to transform standardization policy system and design their standardization policies are discussed. • China's standardization policy system has evolved by three stages. • Institutional, economic and technological contexts confine policy system. • Policy orientation changes towards market mechanism and government guidance. • Mix of policy tools is rationalized as the standardization contexts changed. • Supply-type tools have been the dominant ones during standardization development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond the mainstream discussion on the key role of China in the global AI landscape, the knowledge about the real performance and future perspectives of the AI ecosystem in China is still limited. This paper evaluates the status and prospects of China's AI innovation ecosystem by developing a Triple Helix framework particularized for this case. Based on an in-depth qualitative study and on interviews with experts, the analysis section summarizes the way in which the AI innovation ecosystem in China is being built, which are the key features of the three spheres of the Triple Helix -governments, industry and academic/research institutions-as well as the dynamic context of the ecosystem through the identification of main aspects related to the flows of skills, knowledge and funding and the interactions among them. Using this approach, the discussion section illustrates the specificities of the AI innovation ecosystem in China, its strengths and its gaps, and which are its prospects. Overall, this revisited ecosystem approach permits the authors to address the complexity of emerging environments of innovation to draw meaningful conclusions which are not possible with mere observation. The results show how a favourable context, the broad adoption rate and the competition for talent and capital among regional-specialized clusters are boosting the advance of AI in China, mainly in the business to customer arena. Finally, the paper highlights the challenges ahead in the current implementation of the ecosystem that will largely determine the potential global leadership of China in this domain. • The paper aims to both expanding the knowledge about the AI ecosystem in China and contributing to the innovation ecosystems theory. • It also stresses how a qualitative approach is useful to tackle the complexity in emerging environments of innovation. • In addition, it allows the extraction of insights and gaps that are not directly available from a quantitative analysis of the ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how intangible capital affects the growth of ICT-intensive sectors in China by examining 29 sectors in 30 regions for the years 2003–2015. It is shown that the value added in ICT-intensive sectors in China will grow faster in regions with faster development of intangible capital. This effect is robust to alternative measures of intangible capital and ICT intensity indicators, and even if other region-level determinants of sector growth such as human capital, non-ICT physical capital and financial market development are taken into consideration. The findings imply that Chinese policy makers should aim for not only more ICT investment but also the development of intangible capital. • This paper explores how intangible capital affects growth of ICT-intensive sectors in China. • It examines data of 29 sectors in 30 regions for the years 2003–2015. • ICT-intensive sectors grow faster in regions with faster development of intangible capital. • Human capital, non-ICT physical capital and financial market development are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, the role of telecommunications carriers is often limited to providing connections in rural informatization programs. This paper illustrates the case of Sichuan׳s government-carrier cooperative rural informatization model, where the carriers serve as both the information aggregator and distributor. A close historical analysis reveals that this seemingly unprofitable rural informatization service was originally conceived by competing carriers as a marketing strategy to gain a competitive advantage in less lucrative markets. However, when the government decided to promulgate such an informatization program nationwide, the business practice turned into one of the carrier׳s de facto obligations. Thus, Sichuan׳s model is a mixture of the passive fulfillment of political duty and the proactive pursuit of business interests. A sustainability failure analytical framework is applied to test the sustainability of Sichuan׳s model, which is found to be at risk of financial, social and institutional sustainability failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper synthesises evidence from international trade data of China-based ICT companies in order to map their involvement in the ICT global value chain (GVC). The ICT GVC is divided into three types of companies: Own Brand Manufacturers (OBMs), component companies and Electronic Manufacturers (EMS)/Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs). The firm-level trade data provide us with a clear overall picture of the structure and relationships of the three types of companies, while identifying the key players. The evidence shows that China’s increasing participation in the ICT GVC is related to modularisation of product architecture, globalisation of production, and outsourcing and offshoring of manufacturing, and while several Chinese companies are rising rapidly, China continues to linger in the low value-added segments of the ICT GVC because of its ongoing dependence on foreign technology and its associated intellectual property (IP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the short-run and long-run contribution of five indicators of information and communication technology (ICT ⁎ ) on economic growth of China over the sample period 1980–2013. We use the augmented Solow (1956) framework, the ARDL bounds ( Pesaran, Shin, & Smith, 2001 ) approach to cointegration and the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) granger non-causality tests to examine the possible linkages. The results show evidence of long-run association among level variables for all the indicators of ICT ⁎ . From the results, we also note that all the indicators of ICT ⁎ have a positive and statistically significant elasticity coefficient ranging from 0.010 to 0.080. From the Granger causality results, we note bidirectional causality between mobile cellular, telecommunication and economic growth; and between mobile cellular, telecommunication and capital per worker, respectively. Other results indicate that fixed broadband cause capital accumulation; capital accumulation causes internet technology. We also note bidirectional causality between mobile cellular and telecommunication, and between fixed broadband and internet, respectively; and a unidirectional causality from internet and fixed broadband to hi-tech exports; and from mobile cellular and telecommunication to fixed broadband, respectively. From the overall results, within caveats, we highlight that while all the indicators of ICT ⁎ are imperative for long-run growth, besides capital per worker, the dominant technology drivers are mobile cellular and telecommunications technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitive pressures created by the global market, and the demonstration of market potential in one country influences the incentives to adopt successful technologies and business models in similar countries. In this paper, we explore how mobile payment operation models might evolve in China, using the more mature Japanese and South Korean markets for comparison. Comparing existing business models in the three countries, we argue that regulation has affected both the industry structure and the vertical linkages of the different participants in the mobile payments ecosystem. We predict that rather than converging onto the mobile payment models of Japan or South Korea, the Chinese mobile payment industry is likely to see the coexistence of competing business models in the intermediate term. We attribute this to the contradictory incentives created by Chinese financial sector regulation for the participants in the mobile payments industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the Chinese government׳s mobilization of massive resources and entrepreneurial activities of foreign and local firms, the Chinese cloud computing industry and market are growing rapidly. A number of contradictory, conflicting, and paradoxical forces are shaping the Chinese cloud computing industry and market. This paper seeks to analyze these forces. It examines the importance of various economic linkages as well as formal and informal institutions in the development and utilization of the cloud in China and the emergence of country׳s cloud providers as global players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing has emerged as an important ICT (information and communication technology) innovation that could potentially revolutionize the way computing resources are consumed and provided. In emerging economies, such innovation is regarded as the new way to provide information infrastructure that has the potential for further economic upgrading. In this paper, we investigate the initiation and growth process of the cloud computing industry in China, based on an in-depth case study. We discover that the development of China׳s cloud computing industry that emerged from an initial concept involves the co-evolution of technological and institutional infrastructure leading to a preliminary cloud ecosystem. We also find that such a process involves a wide range of different actors, from the government side to the business side, the interaction among which, in pursuing their own interests, drive the development of the cloud computing industry into being. Finally, situated in the institutional context of China, the government–business relationship is witnessed to have changed and evolved along development of such an emerging industry, demonstrating the important and unique roles of both sides in industrial (or even national) wide diffusion of the ICT innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 29 June 2003, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the Mainland China signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) which opened 18 service sectors including certain telecommunications services to Hong Kong investors. However, the response from Hong Kong׳s telecommunications sector has not been enthusiastic. This paper, with the support and sponsorship by the Communications Association of Hong Kong, provides a panorama review of the CEPA within the context of telecommunications and argues that CEPA has been a political gesture of the Mainland to comfort Hong Kong while the future is becoming optimistic as the Chinese central government has been witnessed to change its policy stance from protectionism towards pro-liberalization. The CEPA Supplement XI which has been implemented since March 2015 would be a milestone in opening China׳s domestic telecommunications market to overseas investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Chinese telecommunications industry, the penetration rates of mobile telecommunications currently vary by province from less than 40% to over 100%. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new regional clustering approach of China from the perspective of mobile telecommunications based on the diffusion characteristics of estimated innovation and imitation coefficients in the mobile telecommunications market. While China has traditionally identified three groups of regions, a cluster analysis based on those diffusion characteristics shows that the 31 provinces in China can be classified into six groups. This empirical result implies that the traditional regional classification seems too simple and that the market should be segmented further in order to develop policies more relevant to Chinese mobile telecommunications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to understand why MNCs choose different embedding strategies in standardization based innovation, and how MNCs׳ competitive landscapes evolve alongside the transition of indigenous innovation in China. Using the multiple case study approach based on the interviews and archival data about China׳s mobile standards, we find that MNCs may choose to proactively or reactively embed in China׳s business and institutional systems by aligning their interests with the standard-based indigenous innovation strategy. Although there are high risks in China׳s standardization, MNCs cannot ignore the huge benefits of China׳s mobile market, and may join in this standardization process when they are ensured the government support would sustain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that the Chinese standardisation system should not be perceived as a threat to international ICT standardisation and that the rather more relaxed attitude adopted by the EU is an adequate way forward. It claims that a co-operation based approach to the increasingly powerful relative newcomer is much more appropriate than one based on competition. These arguments are based on a discussion of the European and Chinese standardisation systems and on a subsequent SWOT analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper categorizes the multiple-faced roles of the government in technology standardization in the catching-up contexts. It presents a case that China has developed a third generation (3G) of mobile system, TD-SCDMA, and deployed it in the Chinese market. The authors attribute the success of this national standardization initiative to that the government is able to balance the interests of different stakeholders of mobile technology and market, and enroll them into the process of TD-SCDMA development and industrialization. The TD-SCDMA case demonstrates that the government in the standardization process can act as a project founder, risk undertaker, interest moderator, collaboration facilitator, and process monitor. Practical implications for developing countries in pursuing their indigenous innovation strategy are given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the contrast between China's and India's universal service policies as manifestations of the two states' differing self-conceptualizations and legitimation strategies. We examine the timeline of universal service policies in the two countries, differentiating between the territorial, demographic and layered dimensions of universal service. The analysis reveals many similarities between the two countries, as well as some differences primarily related to the mode of funding universal service programs and the lead China has taken in deploying informatization services. We identify some of the proximate causes that resulted in these policy decisions. But in addition, we also examine how universal service policies are related to contrasting models of state legitimation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper aims to identify key policy paradigms and strategic dynamics driving wireless broadband infrastructure (WBI) development in China. It is argued that large emerging countries like China can design their own policy agenda to deal with the diverse interests of different political institutions and business companies under the globalization. It has been found that, facing high uncertainties in future technology trajectories, these countries may follow both mission-orientation and diffusion-orientation paradigms in technology development. Such a policy mechanism can help the government efficiently foster technology leadership and build up service capabilities of domestic industries for future WBI. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China has become a significant player in the international standardization regime of telecommunications. It is currently attempting international standardization of its indigenous technologies. This paper examines how China’s approach for standardization has evolved in the cases of locally developed 3G and 4G mobile standards: TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE. The authors address the question in terms of alliance formation. They apply network analysis, which visualizes the formation and transformation of alliances. They argue that China’s approach to standardization has evolved from techno-nationalism to techno-globalism. In building, developing, and maintaining alliances, relatively more weight is placed on links with foreign firms over time than on those with local firms, and China is increasingly open to foreign firms to gain their support and cooperation, which is required for international standardization and commercialization of locally-developed standards. This study makes a contribution in that it applies a quantitative method of network analysis and thereby visualizes the formation of alliances in 3G and 4G mobile communication industries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Offering a historical analysis of the interconnections between China''s telecom policies and industrial development over the past three decades, this paper examines what has recently changed since the promulgation of a domestic-based economic growth model. It argues that the ambitious 3G network buildup underpins the state''s broader industrial policy to build Chinese competencies in telecommunications manufacturing—through the creation and leveraging of domestic demand. Some progress has been achieved in expanding market share and in re-organizing the supply chain across the network equipment, handset, and wireless applications markets, but these policies have yet to fully transform China''s position in global competition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The process of diffusion of standards and competition between standards is susceptible to initial conditions and is path dependent. In this paper, the authors are interested in investigating to which extent economic actions and public policy initiatives can modify the outcome of a path-dependent process of competition between standards. They also aim to identify the factors that affect the success of such initiatives. To this end they analyse competition between mobile standards in China across two generations (2G and 3G), with the help of essential notions of economics of standards. Different policy initiatives have been taken to stimulate the domestic innovation and to relieve the burden of foreign IPRs, culminating with the introduction of a 3G domestic standard, TD-SCDMA, to compete with the established global standards. Despite the size of the Chinese market and the strong hold of the government on the telecommunications industry, it is found that the available market data indicate that these path-breaking initiatives have not been successful from a commercial point of view. From the case study, the authors analyse the reasons for the unsatisfactory market results and outline the main lessons to be drawn. They also investigate to which extent the Chinese initiatives have contributed to other objectives related to catching-up. It is suggested that they have provided opportunities of learning to innovate and develop valuable capabilities. Building on the lessons drawn from this case, the authors discuss three standard policy and strategy options for catching-up countries: simple participation in global consortiums on agreed global standards, indigenous architectural innovation, and indigenous modular innovation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates the key factors influencing the rate of Internet penetration in China. Given the significant differences in Internet penetration rates across different regions in China, panel data for 31 Chinese provinces over the period 2003–2009 are analyzed in a dynamic modelling framework to shed light on the main factors influencing the Internet penetration rate in each region and obtain implications for the digital divide in Internet penetration for China. The most innovative finding is the presence of significant network effect in Internet diffusion. While income is a significant and very important determinant of Internet adoption in each region, literacy and telecommunication infrastructure are also significant determinants of Internet adoption in the less developed western region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Domestic infrastructural information and communication technology (ICT) standards can be items of assertion for newly industrialised countries as they signal a capacity for breaking dependence on foreign technology and potentially drawing revenue from international export. This paper asks, with an in-depth study of a selection of recent South Korean and Chinese infrastructural ICT standards, to what degree it is warranted to correlate the production of standards with dependency-breaking technological capacity. A composite picture is found. On one side, a large portion of promoted domestic standards are creative imitations of foreign technologies with limited, if any, proportions of embedded domestic patents. This indicates a lack of capacity for challenging technological dependence. On the other side, several of the technologies studied signal emerging South Korean and Chinese capacity for embedding cutting-edge patents in infrastructural ICT standards when participating in global standardisation consortiums. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Online privacy seeks to protect the identity of individuals who use the internet to collect information or express opinions. However, given the proliferating vehicles through which one''s identity can be ascertained, the question remains as to what policies can most effectively protect personal identity. This paper explores the similarities and differences with online privacy regulation in the United States and China. The scope of privacy measures examined here ranges from government to personal levels, from communication and finance to personal records, for adults and children. As might be expected in a democracy, American legislative initiatives are more comprehensive and far-reaching than those of their Chinese counterparts. In China, there was until recently no specific right of privacy specified in dedicated legislation, with privacy having been instead protected under the right of reputation in the Civil law. Policy implications stemming from these competing models are evaluated. Study findings underscore the notion that privacy should be a universally established individual right, and that both countries are moving—at least in rhetorical terms—to strengthen it as such. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The provision of universal service in China is currently executed under a “Village Access Project” (“VAP”), which is neither explicit nor sustainable in terms of both regulatory incentives and regulatory governance. Four years after the execution of the VAP, this paper reviews possible deficiencies underlying the current regime and explores a sustainable institutional arrangement for Universal Service Obligations (USOs) in China based on the identification of unique institutional constraints. It is argued that the Universal Service Fund (“USF”) is currently unsuitable for China. Instead, a layer-based regulatory approach featuring a “non-subsidy” regime could be a sustainable institutional arrangement when coordination and agency problems are properly addressed in a governance architecture based on a “Joint-Commission” with members from various stakeholder groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]