Beijing Plays ‘Father Knows Best’ In Huawei-ZTE Spat 中国政府插手华为与中兴之争
In yet another troubling sign for China’s growing tendency to interfere with market forces, Chinese media are reporting the state telecoms regulator has stepped in to try and “mediate” an end to an intellectual property lawsuit by Huawei Technologies against crosstown rival ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) in Europe, and a countersuit by ZTE. (Chinese article) If these companies were all part of one big state-run family rather than competitors, this kind of intervention would be completely understandable. But considering that China is trying to convince the world it has become more market-oriented, this move seems completely inappropriate for a government agency that is supposed to regulate and not participate in the market. Surely the regulator wouldn’t step in to mediate another ongoing lawsuit between ZTE and Sweden’s Ericsson (Stockholm: ERICb), even though it seems to have exercised some influence by holding up a major merger between Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Motorola’s networking assets until Motorola settled another lawsuit brought by Huawei. This kind of intervention, even if it’s just between two Chinese companies, will hardly help Beijing when it complains to other countries that they unfairly discriminate against its exporters.
Bottom line: Beijing’s moves to mediate a resolution to a dispute between Huawei and ZTE will further convince outsiders that China is a long ways from becoming a market-driven economy.
据中国媒体报导，中国工信部已介入华为技术和同城对手中兴通讯<0763.HK><000063.SZ>之间的专利诉讼事件，希望协调解决此事。如果这两家公司都是一个国企大家庭的成员，而非相互竞争者，那麽监管部门的介入是完全可以理解的。但在中国正试图让世界相信，自己在变得更加以市场为导向的今天，这种行为看起来完全不恰当，因为政府机构本应起到监管而非参与市场的作用。中国监管部门肯定不会调停中兴和爱立信<ERICb.ST>之间的诉讼，尽管它似已通过干预诺基亚西门子收购摩托罗拉网络业务的方式，推动解决了华为和摩托罗拉之间的另一起诉讼。这种干预——即使仅仅是在两家中国企业之间——很难让北京在抱怨其他国家歧视中国出口商的时候获得同情。
一句话：北京插手华为和中兴之争一事，再次说明中国距离成为一个市场主导型经济体还有很长的路要走。
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Huawei Pounces on Hapless ZTE With Lawsuit
◙ Troublesome Timing As China Approves NSN-Motorola 中国监管部门批准诺基亚西门子购买摩托罗拉网络业务时机不佳
◙ ZTE Pressures Ericsson With China Suit — NOT 中兴反诉爱立信
