Standards Diplomacy: France at a Crossroads
The results of AFNOR’s 2025 International Barometer are clear: France must take action to remain among the top five leading countries in international standardization bodies. At the same time, China has risen to third place at ISO, the leading organization, thanks to an industrial strategy that has been well established for twenty years. Germany remains in the lead, while the United States holds onto second place but is losing influence.
Quality and lean
On May 15, 2025, French Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Eric Lombard was scheduled to host Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris. Voluntary standardization was on the agenda, and a protocol was to be signed to formalize this Franco-Chinese partnership on a number of strategic issues.
Standardization is a form of soft power that shapes the global economic landscape. Yet in France, this tool is underestimated, despite the new international order highlighting the urgency of preserving national sovereignty: in the 2024 ranking of leading countries in the chairing of technical committees at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), China has risen to third place, relegating Japan and France to fourth and fifth place, even though, in absolute terms, France has no fewer secretariats to manage than in previous years.
For AFNOR, which represents France at ISO, the strategy of engaging in closer cooperation with China is clear: it is better to engage in dialogue with an influential—and increasingly influential—standard-setter than to become an isolated standard-taker. In fact, in 2026, France will host the ISO General Assembly in Paris, bringing together all 170 ISO member countries. At a time when other powers are erecting trade barriers, voluntary standards assert their role as a multilateral and consensus-based tool that fosters trust, exchange, and interoperability.
Ranking of countries within the ISO in 2024, by number of secretariats they host.
A chart comparing the roles of France, China, and Japan in leading ISO technical committees. China is making significant gains and has risen to third place, ahead of Japan (4th) and France (5th), which remains stable. A sidebar notes that France remains the leader in the agri-food sector, holding 17% of leadership roles in 2023.
Key figures from AFNOR’s 2025 International Barometer
- Over the past twenty years, China has been strategically climbing the ranks and has now, for the first time, reached the 3rd place among the countries leading ISO committees, behind Germany and the United States but ahead of Japan and France.
- Within the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), France retains its third-place ranking, thanks to the efforts of its stakeholders.
- In the the food industry at ISO , France remains the leader with 17% of the market share (2023 data). China, which was neck and neck with France in 2022, continues to gain ground but remains in second place for now.
- In third place on the podium in the transportation and logistics sector ... China's push is even more evident, for example in the port sector, reflecting its "New Silk Roads" economic policy.
