An employee of Chinese face mask maker Dasheng Health Products Manufacture Co works at the company's factory in Shanghai, East China. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

Despite the bumpy process, the coronavirus pandemic seems to have offered an opportunity for Chinese-standard medical supplies to get international recognition.

In early April, the US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization for the use of KN95 masks, which meet Chinese standards and are almost identical in performance to the N95 masks that meet US standards, while similar authorizations by the FDA in late March for the use of masks that meet similar standards in other countries didn't include China's KN95 masks. 

For a long time, Western countries have set almost all the standards for medical supplies and equipment, but this time they had to accept medical goods made based on Chinese standards as suitable alternatives amid the public health emergency.

In fact, after years of development, China has made breakthroughs in the manufacturing of medical supplies and equipment, as has its ability to set standards.

However, even against the background of the pandemic crisis, the process of KN95 masks getting FDA authorization clearly demonstrates how hard it is for Chinese standards to be accepted around the world.

To be clear, China's efforts to develop competitive standards have been focused on emerging industries like 5G, instead of medical goods. For instance, Huawei holds more standard-essential 5G patents than any other company while facing tremendous foreign political pressure.

This is because countries have realized that the key to successful international competition lies in the ability to hold onto intellectual property rights and standards that determine future information systems and resources.

Germany stated that its 2020 high-tech strategy is an important factor for the German economy to gain a global competitive advantage so it can actively participate in global standards competition.

At present, China's participation in the formulation of global standards is relatively low, with only 0.7 percent of the total ISO standards set by China. This means that China will need to make more efforts in high-tech research and development if it wants more Chinese standards to be accepted internationally.

Recent media reports indicate that China is about to launch China Standards 2035 aimed at strengthening its standards development efforts. Let's hope the program will help the country carve out a way forward amid the intensified competition for international standards.