What impact will China's accession to the WTO exert on foreign companies' position in China's power market?
While China recognizes the need for imported foreign technologies, it also wants to nationalize as much of this technology as possible. China continues to demand full technology transfers and localization whenever possible. Provisions in the WTO agreement between China and other countries may give exporters of other countries some relief in these areas. Many power equipment manufacturers and related construction/engineering firms of U.S. and European countries have formed joint ventures to compete better domestically in this market.
U.S. companies should concentrate on those areas of this market that allow them to take advantage of the more sophisticated technologies. Control, monitoring and safety equipment, energy efficient and environmental friendly products, and management support for power generation and electric utilities will be competitive in the Chinese market in the future.
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