This story was published in the SCMP’s Education Post on 28 September, 2016.
China aims to lead the world in innovation by 2050. This may seem like a lofty goal for a country that was not long ago referred to as “the world’s factory”. So is it all merely government grandstanding, or is world-class innovation a real possibility?
Four experts came together to discuss this topic in a panel session on “Tech Innovation in China”.
The panel was moderated by professor Waiman Cheung, executive director, the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business, CUHK. Speakers included Hugo Barra, vice president, Xiaomi Global; Chan Hie-ping, executive, cloud development, IBM Greater China Group; Joy Tan, president of corporate communications, Huawei Technologies; and Dr Edward Tse, founder and CEO of Gao Feng Advisory Company.
According to Chan, innovation is at the forefront of the mainland government’s collective mind. “The government is encouraging people to create, to be entrepreneurs, to be inventors,” said Chan. “The new generations are driving tech innovation, as they see it as a gateway to a more international life. China’s young people want to be part of the world, and they know if they invent something, it can be sold all over the world,” said Chan.
“Innovation is different from invention,” said Tse. “There is technological innovation, there is business innovation, and there is business innovation enabled by technology,” he said, adding that Chinese companies are very good at coming up with innovative business models. “We call them exponential organisations, companies that have grown exponentially within a certain period of time. A lot of that growth is on the back of innovative business models, and a lot of that business model innovation is enabled by technology.”
Read the full story here.
Rebecca Simpson. Writer and editor. 