Negotiating standards in Sino-Mongolian industrial relations

Abstract

Anthropologists have used ‘standards’ to critique Western hegemony through the centre–periphery extractive paradigm or the top–down imposition of developmental agendas. This article suggests an alternative possibility by considering the agency of local actors through their experience and evocation of standards in industrial workplaces. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork at two Chinese-owned extractive enterprises and a public vocational school in the east of Mongolia, I recast standards as a conduit for local practitioners to express genuine aspirations for improvement. Here, standards embody the ideal more than the average or the bottom line. Chinese enterprises in Mongolia are assessed against local perceptions of the global hierarchy of standards, which is not only underpinned by technical competence but also influenced by socioeconomic, moral, and geopolitical considerations. This article presents emic and etic perspectives on Chinese enterprises in Mongolia, contributing three ethnographic case studies to the discussion about the contested ascent of China as a global standards-maker and standards-shaker. It highlights the distinctive geopolitical situation of Mongolia and suggests broader implications for uneven development in the world economy.