China: Driving Global Standards on IP/ Tech Transfer

Today’s news that China is now the world’s largest energy consumer according to International Energy Agency data, raises a critical policy issue for the foreseeable future: technology transfer between China and those countries that now find themselves lagging in terms of both energy consumption and renewable production (i.e., the rest of the world). The growing Chinese domestic economy and international pressure to lower GHG emissions have made renewable development as well as innovation in conventional energy sectors the cornerstone of China’s energy strategy. 

But if the world expects that China will act in the same way on these issues as the US and others have, it is in for a rude awakening.  Expect China to play a central role in setting standards, forcing technology transfer, and ultimately “owning” technologies.  China’s leverage in setting international norms will only increase as the country leads in energy consumption and the construction of energy intensive “megaprojects” – powerplants, highways, transit systems, and urban developments.

China Aims for Energy Independence and Local Production

China’s national strategy is aimed at reducing dependence on foreign technology to thirty percent or less by 2020. To achieve this, the Chinese government has used differentiated fiscal and tariff regulations to create incentives for foreign technology providers to localize the production of their advanced technologies. 

See full article here.