Executives see more gains, less pains for global tech sector

Editor's Note: CEOs shared their thoughts about the future of China’s internet sector and the development opportunities for their companies in the new digital era when attending the World Internet Conference, which ended on Nov 9.

Q: What do you think of the future for China’s internet sector? How will your company better tap into the booming industry and its increasing integration with artificial intelligence? Sylvain Laurent, president of DassaultSystemes Asia-Oceania region

Sylvain Laurent: The open mindset of the Chinese government, the full array of industries and the huge market potential makes us believe that China’s internet industry can change and innovate across many areas and become a world leader.

Though DassaultSystemes is mainly engaged in the digital transformation of industries, it always follows cutting-edge information technologies, and is integrating emerging technologies like big data, cloud computing, additive manufacturing, AI and internet of things, to explore how industrial upgrade and transformation can be better enabled. DassaultSystemes attended the Fifth World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen this year to demonstrate the products and solutions for applications like cloud computing, big data, smart city and Marketplace.

Glenn Fogel, CEO and president of Booking Holdings

Glenn Fogel: China has come into its own as an innovator, and I believe it will continue to be a powerhouse for tech in the years to come. The pace of innovation is exceptional here, and the intense competition means if you are not at the forefront of technology in China, you will be gone very soon.

Technology is evolving every day, and with AI advancing in all areas, we need to get ahead of the societal challenges that come with these changes. We need to ensure the future digital world creates efficiencies and opportunities across markets, for everyone, all over the world. As the home to the largest number of unicorn startups, China is at the frontier of innovation and tech. There will be thoughtprovoking conversations that will serve as foundations towards fashioning collaborative solutions for many complicated issues, and I look forward to those discussions.

Hou Jianbin, founder and CEO of Zuoyebang

Hou Jianbin: China is transforming from a big internet nation into an internet power. Technology and data are offering Chinese internetbased enterprises a broader scope, driven by the internet development.

We are proud to be involved in such a rise in the online education sector. Through the empowerment of the internet and AI technology, Zuoyebang is providing over 400 million parents and students with more efficient online education services.

During this process, geographic boundaries are removed and educational resources are efficiently and intuitively allocated. More and more children, especially kids from rural areas, have access to a high-quality and personalized learning experience. As an internet company, we also aim to leverage technologies to promote education equality.

Dong Qi, co-founder and CEO of FinUp Fintech Group

Dong Qi: The development of the internet in China will deepen for sure, and I expect the process to change the nature of work. The internet has changed the way people consume, but reforms in production still have much room for exploration. For instance, there have not been revolutionary changes in vehicles over the past decade, but such changes can be expected in the future.

As for the financial industry, the trend for technologies, including AI technologies, to empower China’s financial system is sure to deepen. The process grants some fintech companies the opportunity to apply their differentiated and in-depth technologies on a large scale, by cooperating with traditional financial institutions. Different from giant internet companies, our company focuses on niche but critical areas, such as financing services for medical cosmetics consumption.

Raymond Tang, CEO of YinxiangBiji

Raymond Tang: The rapid pace of development of the Chinese internet industry over the past five years is beyond imagination. In the future, I suppose that China’s position in the global internet market will also be greatly enhanced. Currently, the top 20 internet companies by market value or valuation are all held by China and the United States, including nine in China and 11 in the United States. Five years ago, China only had two while USA had nine. It’s clear that the gap between China and the US is getting narrower in the global internet landscape.

China’s internet market, environment and industry landscape have formed a “unique Chinese” growth path that accounts for differences in user behavior. We will leverage on opportunities brought by the convergence of the internet and AI, and use advanced technologies to create more efficient and convenient products and services for users.

William Yu, vice-president and general manager of Asia Pacific at Honeywell International Inc

William Yu: I think the internet industry will see even greater development, with double-digit growth each year, and internet adaptation in various fields — such as manufacturing— will certainly see a boom, aside from already the booming internet use in the consumption sector.

With the 1990s and 2000s generations growing to be society’s major work force, there will certainly be more products to meet their growing need. It will be a huge market.

Smart manufacturing has already become a very important sector, and I’m confident about its future development. Our company is very interested in being a player. We are also ramping up efforts in its use in the internet of things business sector, as we are very positive about China’s internet and IoT prospects.

Lou Xiang, CEO of Hengyi Petrochemicals Co Ltd

Lou Xiang: China’s internet sector is certainly booming and will grow to be an even more promising sector. I think right now China is leading the world in terms of using the internet for the consumption sector.

Going forward, I think there will be a boom in China’s industrial internet sector. We currently have a project in Brunei and are seeking deeper cooperation opportunities in the domestic and overseas markets. I strongly believe that the industrial internet can create much more value than we can expect, much more than the use of the internet in the consumption sector.

China’s call for “creating a digital world of mutual trust and collective governance towards a community with a shared future in cyberspace”, and its efforts toward achieving the goal, will certainly create great opportunities for us.