Today, some warn of a so-called “China Shock 2.0.” This time, the anxiety is not about textiles or furniture, but electric vehicles, batteries, artificial intelligence and robotics.
But calling this another shock is too narrow. It assumes China’s technological progress must come at everyone else’s expense.
At this year’s Summer Davos in Dalian, Chinese Premier Li Qiang offered a different framing: “China Opportunity 2.0.”
I see it as a proposition about China’s changing role in the global economy.
The first phase of that opportunity came from a vast market, competitive manufacturing and extraordinary scale. We can call that a market dividend. The second could come from an innovation dividend, which is China’s ability not only to develop technologies, but to commercialize and deploy them rapidly.
That matters because invention alone does not change the world. A technology creates real value only when it becomes reliable, affordable and widely available. China can help close that gap between breakthrough and broad adoption.
For international companies, China is increasingly more than just a market or manufacturing base. It is home to their innovation hubs, it’s a vast testing ground and commercialization partner.
For developing economies, the opportunity is greater still. China’s scale has already helped lower the cost of a range of advanced technology goods, such as solar panels, batteries and electric mobility. If the same process extends to AI, robotics and medical technology, advanced capabilities could reach countries that might otherwise struggle to afford them.
The value of innovation is not measured only by who invents first, but by how many people ultimately benefit.
The world does not need less innovation because it fears who may lead it. It needs more innovation, from more places, reaching more people.
China allowed the world manufacture to scale. Its next contribution may be helping the world innovate at scale.
That is the promise of China Opportunity 2.0.
Editor’s Note: Michael Wang is Anchor of Global Business & BizTalk, CGTN.
