The technology trade barriers for the global television set market have forced China's leading TV manufacturers to form a strategic partnership.

At a TV manufacturing summit held over the weekend, nine TV makers have agreed to develop a set of unified industry technology standards for china, Monday's Oriental Morning Post reported.

At this summit, Changhong, Konka, Skyworth, Hisense, Haier, Xoceco, Panda, SVA and TCL exchanged views on a wide range of topics and pledged cooperation in four areas: technology standards, intellectual property rights, overseas markets and domestic markets.

In the hope that the partnership would counter-act the barriers to technology development found in anti-dumping laws, and IPRs for the global market, they have agreed to set up four coordinated committees under the China Video Industry Association to take charge of the four areas.

Market analysts regarded this cooperation a signal that technology development has taken the place of price competition as the top concern of China's TV manufacturing industry.

While the TV industry is in a transitional period from the traditional cathode-ray tube technology to panel technology, many key new technologies retain foreign patents, they noted.

Domestic TV makers have to pay royalties to overseas patent owners for the use of the technologies, which has resulted in rising costs and declining in competitiveness.

(Shanghai Daily June 1, 2005)