Bullet comments are a very Chinese and emerging feature when watching videos, conquering the rest of the world too, says innovation expert Ashley Dudarenok at het weblog.
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US President Biden is trying to beat China, just like his predecessor Trump with a strong focus on technology. But Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein does not see how the US can overtake China in innovation, he tells at state-owned Global Times. And more about the tense relationship between both economic powers.
The Global Times:
GT: You are very optimistic about China’s technological innovation. According to mainstream US media analysis, President Biden is putting tech at the center of his China strategy. And some say the US is shifting from Trump’s “decoupling” to Biden’s “small yard, high fence” tactic. How do you view this more targeted approach? What could it result in?
Rein: What Trump did to China was awful. What Biden is doing is just as bad. It’s clear that the US wants to destabilize and destroy China’s high-tech industry. They want to control tech standards. It’s not because Huawei or Douyin (Tiktok), or Chinese firms have done anything bad. I’ve seen no evidence yet from the US that these Chinese firms are doing anything overly bad that is not normal in other countries. It’s clear that the US feels that future war is not conventional war, but over controlling tech standards, and whoever dominates the tech world will be the major global superpower.
Over the last five years, China has become the most innovative nation in mobile APPs. Whenever I go back to the US, I feel like I’m back in the dark ages.
China has Alipay and Wechat pay, which I think is one of the reasons why China is able to stop COVID-19. In the US, people are still using cash and physical credit cards. But because of what Trump and Biden have done to China – such as crippling Huawei – Chinese firms have to focus on semiconductor development. Four years ago they didn’t need to, now they have to. This is a do-or-die situation. So you’re going to see the government and business will all have to work together, in order to shed the yoke of American imperialism in technology, it’s a very dangerous situation.
I work with a lot of American software and technology companies. They are my clients. They’re angry, because they sell to Chinese companies. They were generating billions of dollars a year in profits in China. All of a sudden, they are no longer allowed to sell to Huawei. They can’t sell to these companies.
China is the biggest market in the world for Intel, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. Those businesses will be gone in five years, because Chinese companies will have to sell what Intel used to sell. So Biden is destroying the American tech sector.
When it comes to semiconductors, China is five to 10 years behind the US. So basically hysteria has captured the US, in DC. You bring up anything about China, automatically Americans go crazy. They think that it’s a new red scare. It’s absurd that people aren’t thinking logically right now.
The US has a rotation between the government and the war machine. Take the new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. After he left the US military in Iraq, he worked for Raytheon, a weapons maker, as a board member. Now he becomes the secretary of defense. It’s rotating between government and weapons, which is very dangerous.
Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
Are you looking for more experts on the trade war between China and the US? Do check out this list.
The US used to be a benchmark for many innovative companies and startups, but China is now leading the way, says VC William Bao Bean with a major portfolio in China, Asia in a webinar of NYU SPS Integrated Marketing and Communications. He explains what lessons can be learned from China.
Willliam Bao Bean is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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The major economies in the G-7 need more investments in R&D and collaboration in science and technology to compete with China, says former US assistant trade representative Harry Broadman at CNBC. “We’ve done really well among democratic countries collaborating on investment and trade, but we’ve done an extraordinarily poor job in R&D,” he said.
CNBC:
Harry Broadman, managing director and chair of the emerging markets and CFIUS practices at Berkeley Research Group, told CNBC last week that developed countries’ ability to create, execute and sell products that advance the climate agenda without negatively affecting the labor market would shape the economic landscape in the coming years.
“As long as people believe that there is going to be a market for such technologies and that’s going to be dictated by how cheap it is, and whether it destroys jobs or creates jobs — it does not necessarily have to destroy jobs at all — that is going to be the driving imperative, and I think that race is already underway,” Broadman said.
Ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, U.K. in June, Broadman, an assistant U.S. trade representative during the Clinton administration, said the group of major economies will need to drastically evolve their research and development and sovereign-to-sovereign science and technology collaborations in order to compete with China.
Broadman is pushing for an “R&D7” to be included on the G-7 agenda, similar to other working groups across members on issues of global importance. Its aim would be to reform the structure underlying the negotiation and execution of international science and technology agreements among G-7 countries. It would also form a stand-alone body tasked with ensuring that these agreements strengthen and recalibrate R&D collaboration within the G-7.
“We’ve done really well among democratic countries collaborating on investment and trade, but we’ve done an extraordinarily poor job in R&D, and this is where China is frankly a huge competitive and potentially a huge economic and maybe geopolitical, threat,” he said.
Harry Broadman is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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China’s automotive industry has traditionally taken a backseat compared to global competitors, but is planning a major overtake when it comes to pushing startups on self-driving, says China lawyer Mark Schaub in the Asia Nikkei. “In China, if you always wait till the law comes into effect, you are six months to a year behind what the regulators are saying,” Schaub said.
The Asia Nikkei:
Analysts see authorities’ willingness to allow aggressive experiments for new technology as a major advantage in China’s fierce competition with the U.S. for the most advanced autonomous driving technology, which many believe will change the automobile industry.
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Despite the trade tensions between China and the US, many tech companies from China still turn to American stock markets for their need for capital. Shanghai-based VC William Bao Bean explains why China’s markets can still not match the capital requirements of domestic companies, he tells at Emerge 2020.
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Only half a decade ago Silicon Valley thought China becoming a force of innovation was preposterous. Now, under Trump, China has proved them wrong, says business analyst Shaun Rein in a wide-ranging interview with state paper Global Times. Also: China’s successful fight against Covid-19 and decoupling economies.
Global Times:
GT: You have written three books: The End of Copycat China: The Rise of Creativity, Innovation, and Individualism in Asia, The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that Will Disrupt the World, and The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order. Does the end of “copycat China” and “cheap China” mean that innovation has become major trend happening within Chinese companies? How might this affect other major technological powers, especially the US?
Rein: In 2014, I published The End of Copycat China, where I predicted that China was going to become an innovation powerhouse. At that time, Silicon Valley criticized me heavily. They said I was crazy. They said that the Chinese were not creative, were culturally unable to innovate, and that the Chinese government stifled innovation.
But six years after I published the book, it’s quite clear that China is an innovation powerhouse. When it comes to mobile services, it’s three-plus-years ahead of the US, and maybe five years ahead of Western Europe. Because of China’s lead in mobile services innovation, we were able to better contain COVID-19. For example, in China, almost everybody uses WeChat Pay or Alipay. It’s a cashless, contactless society. In the US, people are still using cash and credit cards, which may also spread COVID-19. The US still has a lead in semiconductors, with platforms like Android and IOS.
But that’s not because China can’t do it. It’s because there are so many low-hanging fruits. Why would China invest in semiconductors when it could just buy American semiconductors and focus on making money with mobile services innovations? China clearly was looking for a win-win trade policy with the US. Chinese companies were not stealing IP. They are willing to pay for American technology. It was easier and a win-win situation for everyone.
But because of the Trump administration’s trade war and containment policy, China has now begun to focus on innovation with semiconductors and operating systems. It’s not easy. It will take five to 10 years. But we see China has set up a semiconductor fund of about $30 billion. We also see that Huawei is focused on its HarmonyOS. Chinese companies now have to focus on self-reliance. And it would be stupid for the US to think that Chinese cannot innovate with semiconductors or operating systems.
I think the Trump administration is shooting the US in the foot. American tech companies are now not able to sell to their biggest customers in China. My firm works with many American tech companies, and we develop their strategies. They are furious about Trump’s policies because they are now losing their biggest market. And they are scared to openly criticize, because they worry that Trump will attack them on Twitter and get his hawkish American politicians to boycott their products.
Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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China was a copy-cat country for long, but has moved away from its IP infringements, says business consultant Ben Cavender. Innovation is a keyword in its development, and most IP infringement cases in court are between Chinese companies, he adds.
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China watcher Kaiser Kuo opens a panel on innovation in China at the (pre-corona) AMR Festival 2019 discussing how the West had flipping narratives on how the technology works in an authoritarian climate. And both say more about the China observers in the West than China itself, Kaiser argues.
Kaiser Kuo is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your now online conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.
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| Shaun Rein |
According to Pew Research Center, almost half of immigrants live in just three states - New York, Texas and California, home of Silicon Valley, where tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Cisco are based.
"Trump's immigration ban will hurt US tech companies' ability to recruit the talent necessary to remain competitive and focus on innovation," said Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group.
"Instead of staying in America and building America's tech prowess, top talent will return to their home countries and build the next round of innovation powerhouses." US companies are battling it out with Chinese internet giants such as Alibaba and ByteDance in the field of innovation.
"Now, with the immigration ban, more top Chinese, Indian and other foreign talent will seek jobs in tech hubs globally like Shenzhen, Seoul and Bangalore rather than Silicon Valley. They will push invention and innovation in software, hardware and in semi-conductors," Mr Rein added.More on the BBC.
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| William Bao Bean |
“We’re in China. We’re talking to you from the future. Most of the world are just coming into quarantine. And we’re coming out of it after two months. So think about what happens. People still have to eat. So how do they get their food? People get very bored and they also get very angry and distracted by their children. So there’s actually quite a lot of opportunity here.”More in Webintravel.
Impact on big vs small
“Big, disruptive downturns have a big negative impact on larger companies, as opposed to small companies, because small companies don’t have that physical and human infrastructure. They’re also much more nimble and it’s easier to make cuts.”
Asia leapfrogging in mobile innovation in health tech
“Asia has a bit of an advantage in terms of speed because they’re more open to (tech) adoption than other markets. This is the leapfrog effect twe’ve seen in travel, fintech and banking. And now we’re seeing it in the health industry, where new solutions innovation is rolled out much more quickly.”
On China’s Health Code app, Singapore’s TraceTogether app
“Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. I think globally, what you’re going to see is an increase in adoption in technology and the lead has really been taken by Asia. People are citing South Korea, China and Singapore.”
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| Mark Schaub |
The world’s auto market is in the doldrums and China, as the world’s largest auto market, has suffered almost two-years of starkly declining sales and now the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has crashed the already anemic sales.
The automotive sector has been heading for disruption for some time now. The virus outbreak may have pushed matters further. China signaled its intention to play a key role in the development of autonomous vehicles when on 24 February 2020 eleven central level Chinese governmental departments jointly issued the Strategy for Innovation and Development of Intelligent Vehicles (the “Strategy”).
The Strategy sets forth a blueprint as to how the Chinese government will boost the development of autonomous vehicles over the next thirty years...
The Strategy has been warmly welcomed by the market in China.
The Strategy lays out a comprehensive and detailed plan for the development of autonomous vehicles in China. China clearly recognizes the advantages it has in data, market, technology innovation, infrastructure and environment to build an autonomous car manufacturing titan. The Strategy also recognizes and seeks to address some of China’s disadvantages – restrictions on mapping and slow changes to relevant laws.
Black swan events are unforeseen and unexpected. An unexpected result of the virus outbreak is that the inevitable disruption and move to autonomous new energy cars will be sped up. An already weakened traditional auto sector may find it has no choice but move to new technologies.More at the China Law Insight.
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| Kaiser Kuo |
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| Add caption |
Ashley Galina Dudarenok has founded not just one but two consultancies focused on marketing in China. ChoZan is a social media agency while Alarice specializes in marketing training — and both outfits reflect Dudarenok’s expertise in navigating China’s famously fast-moving digital landscape. Dudarenok’s tireless entrepreneurial spirit has underpinned her progress on multiple fronts: as a member of Alibaba’s global influencer entourage and JD’s global China experts group, an Amazon bestselling author of three books, and running one of the world’s most popular China business vlogs.
How do you define innovation? Innovation is finding a new, better way to do things. Innovation is moving forward. Innovation is life.
What is the most innovative comms/marketing initiative you've seen in the last 12 months? Private Traffic on WeChat in China / KOC
In your opinion, what brands and/or agencies are most innovative around PR and marketing? Durex in China is great :)More at the Holmes Report.
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| Shaun Rein |
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| William Bao Bean (right) in Shenzhen |
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| Andy Mok |
Some have pointed to China’s tech gap with the US as evidence that the Asian giant does not have what it takes to achieve technological competitiveness.
China, however, is still in the early stages when it comes to developing technology, according to Andy Mok, senior research fellow at the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based non-government think tank.
“A lot of research universities in the US – like MIT, Caltech – they’ve had decades of operations [since the second world war and the cold war],” said Mok.
“It’d be quite a myth to say that the US system is so successful technologically because of its political or economic system.”
While semiconductors may not have been a top priority for China until recently, threats of a tech cold war which could cut off the country from US technology, including chips, mean China will double down on developing its own proprietary technology.
In the short term, China could fall further behind the US, Mok said.
“Some of these indigenously produced components were a ‘nice to have’ but not a ‘must-have’ before … it was one priority among many,” Mok said. “Will China’s chips be cutting edge? Probably not, but they will be good enough to be used in the short term.”...
“Many of the most valuable US companies today are seen as tech leaders because they were able to piggyback on US hegemony,” he said. “If you could win in the US, you could probably win everywhere else.”
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| Matthew Brennan |
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| William Bao Bean |
Another key piece of the start-up puzzle is access to talent. While Hainan introduced a visa free policy in May 2018, allowing visitors from 59 countries – including the US, the UK, France, Germany, and Japan to stay for up to 30 days – a tech hub it needs more engineers, not beachgoers.
So the red tape previously involved in getting a working visa has been streamlined for professionals. “If you’re a foreigner without a bachelor’s degree and you want to start up something in China, it’s almost impossible for you to get a working visa in big cities like Beijing, but it’s possible to get one in Hainan,” said William Bao Bean, a general partner at SOSV.
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| Shaun Rein |
