Vivian Yang, Lead Media Operations, China, Public Engagement, Tel.: +86 138 1056 7837, email vya@weforum.org
Dalian, People’s Republic of China, 10 September 2015 – A boom in digital entrepreneurship and internet-driven growth is revolutionizing lives across China from the village up, technology specialists told participants at the World’s Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions today.
“We’re witnessing remarkable change happening in China right now, which is different and in many ways more powerful than other parts of the world,” noted Rich Lesser, Global Chief Executive Officer and President, Boston Consulting Group, USA, of China’s internet-driven growth. “China will have $320 billion of growth here based on consumption and half of that growth will come from online,” he said. Comparative to other parts of the world, the digital boom is revolutionizing lives, Lesser said. “We’re actually seeing it open up people’s dreams. If you are in a small city or village, you can get access to the kind of products you want.”
Cheng Wei, Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Didi Kuaidi, People’s Republic of China, a Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2015, described the digital shift as a hot wave. “This hot wave is just like industrialization during the first or second Industrial Revolution, and China is no longer isolated from this round,” he said. In the past, Chinese companies lagged behind, but not anymore. “More and more, because of the internet, Chinese companies are demonstrating more vitality; and I believe the internet wave in the oriental world, in particular China, is taking the lead,” said Wei.
Emphasizing the need to create real value online, Xu Jinghong, Chairman, Tsinghua Holdings, People’s Republic of China, said that this new phase in China should be seen as an “upgrade” rather than a disruption and should be premised on innovation. “Innovation is a constant ongoing process, and I hope this is the new normal,” he said. Looking ahead, Lesser remarked that technology is set to make a big impact, and not only in the business world. “Digital is one of the ways to close inequality gaps, particularly in education and health,” he said, “Empowering teachers and students – the potential to make a difference for tens of millions of lives is quite substantial.”
Supported by a growing middle class, young entrepreneurs need to leverage their position by fusing traditional and modern business tools, argued e-commerce pioneer Zhang Tao, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dianping, People’s Republic of China. “In China, there are many business founders who are passionate, but they are not clear about what they want to achieve,” he said, “You need to appreciate the social value of your business and continue to create that value.” Persistence, passion and clear vision are key, he added.
Through the increasing use of digital technology, a “reorganization and re-imagining of the future” is underway, pointed out Chen Juhong, Vice-President and Editor-in-Chief, Online Media Group, Tencent, People’s Republic of China. However, panellists agreed that a conducive ecosystem will help facilitate the continued vitality of digital development. In addition to current government initiatives to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital space, access is key for young entrepreneurs. “We need to have a liberal platform to encourage them to find solutions in an agile environment,” said Wei.
Ron Cao, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Lightspeed China Partners, People’s Republic of China, spoke of the need for long-term vision to realize China’s digital potential. “On the start-up front, we take the view of more than 10 years when designing and making strategies,” he explained. “The market here in China is sufficiently big and the scale of the market is there; it will be a lot of fun for start-ups, a lot of things will be interesting to them,” he said.
The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions takes place in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, from 9 to 11 September. The meeting is a leading global gathering on innovation, entrepreneurship, science and technology. It is held in close collaboration with the Government of the People’s Republic of China, with the support of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The meeting is convening more than 1,700 participants from 90 countries under the theme, Charting a New Course for Growth.
Notes to Editors
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