This Action will promote research collaboration and engagement between research and policy in relation to Information Technology standardisation in China & Europe. The People’s Republic of China has recently begun to be remarkably active in many areas of ICT interoperability standards. This raises important issues for China about standardisation processes and technology promotion policy. Their outcome will have important consequences for the European economy and global ICT market. They are flagged as of particular interest to the FP7 Information Society Technologies programme. This project brings together the leading European and Chinese centres for research into ICT Interoperability Standards for a comparative examination of ICT standardisation processes and associated policies between EU and China. It will develop a knowledge network of top researchers in the field in Europe, China and beyond. It will examine the new ICT standardisation activity emerging in China, apparently linked to its goals to promote indigenous technology, and compare these emerging standardisation processes with the more established approaches that have evolved at a European level. Three strategic studies will address a selected sample of areas flagged by IST as bearing critically on European technology and industrial strategy. They will examine the standardisation approach adopted; the strategies of public policy, technical and industrial players; the likely implementation/uptake of standards and their consequences for innovation and markets. In particular: will the outcomes be open standards and alignment between regional economies or competitive standards processes leading to so-called “standards wars” or the fragmentation of global markets. Attention will be paid to social learning by standardisation bodies, industry and policy actors. Findings will be discussed with Chinese & European standards bodies and policy communities, who will assist in pulling out the policy implications.