DVD? China"s trying to do it one better -- with a technology called EVD.
CDMA? The digital cell phone standard is so 2003, the Chinese say. Give TD-SCDMA a try instead. Intel Corp."s Centrino and Microsoft Corp."s Windows? If you"re doing business with Beijing, better bone up on WAPI and Red Flag Linux, too. These days, China"s dominant message is this: We"ll embrace the world -- but on our terms. And nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of high technology, where behind the acronyms is a battle of standards that could have global repercussions.
Pushed by their government, Chinese firms are shunning technological protocols invented abroad and developing their own. They want Chinese-made video discs to run on Chinese-invented players. They want Chinese consumers linking up with China-developed mobile gadgets. This trend goes beyond commercial and security concerns. Cultural pride is at stake: A once-great China humbled by Western powers in the 19th century doesn"t want to be undercut again.