The 9th of December was the day of the main event on Technology and Innovation World at the World Innovators Meet 2020. Innovators and thought leaders from all over the world met up online to discuss technological and industrial innovation achievements in 2020, marking out how breakthroughs are adding convenience to everyday life.
On December 9-12, EqualOcean was holding the World Innovators Meet (WIM) 2020. This year, the event's main topic was 'Technology and Innovation Connect the World.' WIM2020 gathered up innovators from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas to share their knowledge and key achievements, promoting the concept of 'Tech for Equal.'
"We have lost confidence in the West. Only strong government can end the war and ensure the development of technology and innovation and continuously inclusive growth." so claimed Paul Romer, the co-recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2018, during the Chapter on Technology and Innovation Leadership at WIM2020. The pandemic and other crises, a new president of the USA and changes on the world political and economic scene, a changing relationship between China and US – two of the most developed and innovation-laden countries – and other topics were all discussed during the discussion between Yuanpu Huang and Paul Romer.
The WIM2020 was opened by the head of the Leadership Chapter. Leaders from different continents discussed not only new trends in technology and innovation, but also touched on topical issues from 2020: the effectiveness of governments during the pandemic, the possibility of a new world war, a new president of the USA and the changes that will follow, relations between the world's largest and developed economies – China and USA – the concept of 'strong government' and economic growth in a crisis. Most people in the world are still asking these questions today, and they can't find any easy answers. But our Leaders and WIM2020 speakers during the Leadership Chapter, Yuanpu Huang, the EqualOcean CEO, and Paul Romer, the co-recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 2018, found sufficient answers during their discussion about the digital economy as the new engine for global economic recovery.
The crisis during a pandemic
Huang: When you talk about pandemic and its impact, you connect it with political crisis, not with economic one. So, are you making a point about the possibility of a new world war breaking out?
Romer: I don't think so. If we look back at the 20th century, we will see that countries which went through wars wanted to get benefits like having a dominant economic system in the world – on the contrary, they suffered more losses. For example, the former Soviet Union occupied many countries, but didn't get any economic benefits out of these occupations. The one thing that we can clearly see: that some populist political leaders use hostility to foreigners to undermine trading relationships and suspend the operations of international organizations such as the WTO. But I don't think that we will reach this bad point.
Huang: Do you think that Joe Biden, the new President of the USA, is a strong leader? Will he lead the USA get out of a pandemic and the crisis?
Romer: The change in the person who is a president always makes some difference. Particularly, I'm sure that it will not be so appealing to the people in the USA who are angry with the rest of the world and with China as well. I think it will reduce some problems. Nowadays, the USA is faced with the problem of losing the capacity of getting government to do important parts of its job, and changing the president will not help us to regain this capacity. The government is too weak to fulfill its commitments to its citizens. And a pandemic like a Great Depression will let the government of the USA rethink the real government's role in country and its citizens' prosperity.
Innovation development
Huang: What are your thoughts on American technology companies such as Amazon and Microsoft, and Chinese technology companies such as Alibaba and Tencent which are becoming bigger and bigger and more powerful in the field of technology and innovation? Are there any barriers for new technology companies to enter the market shaped by these big companies?
Romer: Dominators in the market can slow down the overall pace of innovation development in the country or in the world. The deeper concerns, especially in Western economies that are already weak, are about losing confidence in governments that even can't control the situation in their countries. It's quite destabilizing, so that we lose confidence in European products as well. If the government isn't doing its job well, it means that there are political risks and threats to innovation. On the contrary, we trust China's market because during the pandemic the Chinese government showed that they are strong and mature enough to make decisions. Therefore, more likely China will play an important role in solving the Global Warming problem than the USA will.
Huang: We all know that investments in human capital are the greatest contributor to economic growth. Which country do you think has the greatest growth potential in terms of technology and innovation in the next 5-10 years? Now there are 5 countries which demonstrate it: China, USA, Japan, India and Germany, which one is more innovatively-developed?
Romer: I could say that there are two countries which are matching that description – China and India. Firstly, China and India are unusually large-population countries with competitive cities fueling them. I think a competition between provinces and cities is a very healthy thing for future development. I think the challenge for next decade for China is take the top 3 universities that are concentrated in the big cities, replicate their models and distribute the benefits around the country, creating powerful urban and research centers with competition in terms of technology and government. China will have a very strong position to lead the world in both political and economic innovation.
Huang: You just mentioned an education system; do you think China has made any progress in higher education over the past few years?
Romer: It's clear that China has been investing in education significantly, allowing access to universities for more and more people, but the thing that remains open for improvement is an equalizing effect. It means that dozens of good universities should be concentrated all around China, not only in a few cities, for creating an equal competitive environment.
Looking forward
Huang: I've heard many pessimistic opinions about Western innovation and development. Are there any positive trends that are expected during this crisis?
Romer: Let me try to find one. So many economists have said that we should let government to get out of the way. But progress depends on vibrant market innovation and the ability of government to make sure that innovation is used for benefit of everyone. I think this pandemic and crisis is the wakeup call for the West that we might have let our governments fail to do their job – and a benefit that comes up from this crisis is that we will reinvest in the balance between a vibrant market and a strong government; and here we are making progress.
Huang: You have also mentioned that the strong government can end the practice of war – and that the concentration of wealth has a negative impact on a country's economic growth. Can only a strong government solve this problem?
Romer: The most dangerous thing is there are some wealthy individuals who are stronger than the government; it means that they can easily manipulate the decisions made by government. Strong government can protect itself and be sure that everyone has access to benefit from growth and technologies. Having this ability not to be captured, government can protect itself and facilitate the inclusive growth from which people can get their benefits.
At the end of the dialogue, Romer gave some advice for young people who have only recently graduated and can't find the field they want to enter: "The young people who see a roadblock in their path shouldn't be pessimistic, they should look around, find another path. It's not necessary to get into one of the best universities and live in one of the top cities – take firm actions and you will find your path!"
About WIM
Hosted by EqualOcean, the World Innovators Meet (WIM) (click to watch the online event on December 9-12, 2020) is a global event for innovators. It provides limitless opportunities to learn from and connect with the most sought-after technology pioneers.
About WIA
The World Innovation Awards (WIA) are announced at WIM to recognize game-changers across various industries and geographies. Selected by a committee of distinguished experts, entrepreneurs and investors, WIA are designed to acknowledge technology disruptors striving to make a positive impact on a global scale.
See this year's WIA lists and download the research reports in English and Chinese on EqualOcean and 亿欧智库 respectively.