Many from the newest generation of Chinese entrepreneurs are global from the beginning, David Aikman, chief representative officer of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in China, told CGTN at the Summer Davos, which closed on Thursday in Tianjin.
Aikman also talked about China's innovation and opening-up efforts in the past 40 years, and the country's advantages in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). About 200 Chinese start-ups at all sizes of development attended this year's meeting.
New start-ups are born global
“Going back to big Chinese champions like Huawei, Lenovo and Alibaba in the past, they started with big domestic market focus and then became international,” Aikman observed.
But for new Chinese entrepreneurs, many are global from the start, according to Aikman. For example, the drone company DJI has 70 percent of the global market shares.
DJI introduces two additions to the drone Mavic series in New York, US, August 23, 2018./VCG Photo
Some of the new energy vehicles starting in China “opened research centers in the US, manufacturing center in Germany, and did sales and management in Shanghai from the first day,” Aikman told CGTN.
“Start-ups don't have the same access to opportunities,” said Aikman. That's why the WEF has launched the Global Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Summer Davos.
“[The Center] has become a platform for exchange, and an opportunity for companies, particularly Chinese start-ups, to go global,” Aikman asserted.
China leads advanced manufacturing
The WEF has recently identified the nine best factories or “lighthouses” in the world that successfully implement 4IR technology. Three of the factories – Bosch Automotive, Haier, Siemens Industrial Automation Products – have selected Chinese cities as sites.
The factory of Haier in Zhengzhou, China. /VCG Photo
“The fact that one third [of the ‘lighthouses'] are from China is an example how China has so quickly moved to be a leader in advanced manufacturing,” Aikman continued.
“One of the things that I admire the most of China is that it has the ability to pilot, to test and then just scale very quickly. It is one of China's real strength. We hope the ‘lighthouses' would be examples for others to follow.
“For China to continue to grow its economy, for China to transform to be even more inclusive, to lift even more population into prosperity, advanced manufacturing is one of the key strategic industries for this country,” Aikman added.
China is on a good track for the next 40 years
“China has done more in the past 40 years of opening up than any other country in the world to lift 800 million people out of poverty, to transform its economy to a modern and dynamic economy,” Aikman told CGTN.
“The investment that China is making in these new strategic industries like advanced manufacturing, AI and robotics, and the investments in protecting intellectual property (IP), are investments which are going to serve China for the next 40 years,” Aikman held.
Artificial intelligence in Shanghai, China./VCG Photo
“China, more than any nation in the world, has recognized the opportunities of the 4IR, to create new sources of income, to create new industries, and to create more inclusive and sustainable society, and to spread the benefits of technology,” Aikman insisted.
Diversified development is an advantage
“One of the opportunities in China is to have the different levels of development at the same time, with forward-looking companies making investments in all of the revolutions at the same time.
“In the first-tier cities in China, the labor costs are now so high, that [Chinese e-commerce companies] need to look at robots and new technology for delivery of goods.
“Now they are moving their systems of delivery [from first-tier cities] to second- and third-tier cities. They are also going out to the rural areas and using drones to deliver packages to distribution centers in remote villages,” Aikman said.
Oct. 31, 2017: Alibaba's staff uses a drone to deliver packages to customers on islands in Fujian Province, China. /VCG Photo
“I think that will not only help China develop, but it's making Chinese companies to be much better at globalization. Because if they can deploy solution in rural China, they could deploy similar solution in Indonesia or ASEAN, or parts of Africa.
“[Chinese] businesses operating on a national scale have to overcome so many challenges and so many different speeds of development. It makes them much more competitive globally than some of their Western competitors,” Aikman told CGTN.
(Video made by CGTN's Qi Jianqiang)