How has China gained influence at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and what type of agenda will they continue to pursue if the US and our allies do not step up our participation? If China and Russia win the upcoming ITU election, we’re going to find out. Coined recently as “the most important election you have never heard of,” the ITU’s plenipotentiary conference in late September will give members the chance to vote on a new secretary general and group of high officials. If China’s favored candidates succeed, they will continue to dictate the rules, standards, and best practices around emerging technologies like 5G networks.

Failure on the part of the US to thwart this effort will have tangible effects on everyday Americans. As two of our guests today have warned, “What is at stake is secure air travel, privacy in every sphere of modern life, and the ability of the US military to protect the American people. The stakes could not be higher.”

On this episode, Shane sits down with AEI Distinguished Senior Fellow Danielle Pletka and Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow Brett Schaefer, who co-authored a report titled Countering China’s Growing Influence at the International Telecommunication Union. They’re also joined by Dominique Lazanski, a global internet governance expert and previous Explain to Shane guest who last came on the show to discuss her 2020 essay, Standardising the Splinternet: How China’s Technical Standards Could Fragment the Internet. The four of them discuss the upcoming ITU election, remind us of its high stakes, and explain how China’s quest to dominate the ITU is emblematic of a larger strategy to intimidate rivals and erode the United States’ global influence.