Advanced Technology News
- China and Europe work to bridge digital divide
Date: 8-May-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, paid an official visit to China from April 11 to 13 to exchange views with her counterparts including the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), the State Council Informatization Office (SCITO), as well as telecom operators and research facilities. In an exclusive interview with China Daily reporter Chen Zhiming, the commissioner shared her vision on increasing collaboration and on existing problems between Europe and China in advancing the information society.
Q: What is the major purpose of your trip to China this time? What's your comment on collaboration between the two sides in information and communication technologies?
A: I am on a lifelong learning visit to learn about Chinese society, economy, technology, and politics as a whole. Our friendship with China permits us to exchange views in a very direct way.
I am very happy with the collaboration we've set up. Take research, for instance. There are 50 research teams that are working with European researchers on very important issues such as next-generation networks, 3G and beyond 3G.
We've decided to continue, but in a different way. To be more efficient, before we start the research we will sit together and say what is to our mutual benefit between China and the European Union. We first fix what has to be done and then we go for it.
For instance, we have been collaborating on research for the digital Olympics. Part of this research is going to be applied to help the Olympics to be a success. The MOST and the EU have decided to organize a big event in Beijing to present the success story before the end of the year.
Q: What were your major concerns for the China visit?
A: We were happy to hear from the MII minister the confirmation of the commitment to fully respect the WTO engagements technological neutrality. They are not to favor one technology over another when it comes to 3G. This is very important in commercialization terms, the transparency of the decision to be taken. The MII minister said there would be more than one 3G licence to be allocated.
The minister said that the protection of IPR drives innovation. IPR is good for both European industry and for Chinese industry. The rule is to let the industries both from Europe and China sit together to sort the questions of IPR out to solve the problem through negotiation.
There are two other main problems. The first question is about market access for European companies in value-added services. The second one is the restrictive type of approval procedures for EU products which contain some international standards.
It is impossible not to have conflicts. It's not a question of whether there are conflicts. The question is how we solve the questions. We need a mechanism that allows us to sit together and try to find a solution. The best way to develop a thriving economy is to do it by openness, competition and networking.
We've demonstrated in Europe that this is a successful model and this is also a question which I've discussed with my Chinese counterparts.
Q: How did the two sides collaborate to bridge the digital divide?
A: We've signed an agreement with the State Council Informatization Office to collaborate on the question of the digital divide and we continue to have very good relations. The experience we have in Europe on bridging the digital divide can be very important for China and vice versa. We can learn from each other, exchange good practices and advance more quickly.
The 25-million-euro EU-China information society project, which started in
2005 and will run until 2009, has been going well and both sides are very positive about it. It helped very concretely in the countryside, for instance, to implement e-government solutions. We help Chinese communities to apply practical e-government solutions and we do that with our communities.
Q: What's your comment on the Chinese government's stance on IPR issues? Do you see any change or any substantial development on that?
A: I think Chinese society is slowly understanding that no respect for IPR means destruction of Chinese industry, not to mention the creative industry. The first one is piracy. Chinese filmmakers are the first to suffer. I believe that we have to work together, to look at how we are preserving the industry, the creation, the content, the services, to become stronger, because that will be in the interests of our societies.
Q: Can you share with us the latest developments of 3G in the European Union?
The Chinese 3G TD-SCDMA standard is regarded as complementary to the European WCDMA system. Do you think it will be possible for the European market to adopt such standards in the foreseeable future?
A: First we should look at the situation in Europe with mobile phones. The medium penetration rate is 103 percent and the best country is 171 percent concerning the penetration rate. Like 2G, which was taken up very slowly in the beginning, 3G is now being taken up strongly and then the next very strong development is going to be mobile TV.
For TD-SCDMA's adoption in the European market, the answer is simple: no.
Because we have a system which works, we don't need a system that's on trial.
Just like the GSM, it's going to be a worldwide system, so we do not need another one.
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