US-China in a war for tech standard supremacy

The US–China technology rivalry became overt when a dispute erupted over 5G and Huawei after Washington designated Huawei as an embargoed company on its “Entity List” in May 2019.

At the center of the dispute are standards underpinning the fifth generation (5G) of mobile network technology. China is overtaking the United States — the traditional mastermind of international standards in information and communications technology — in setting the standards for 5G.

Chinese companies hold one-third of the world’s 5G-related “standard-essential” patents — patents that claim an invention must be used to comply with an industry standard.