タグ: Xiaomi

                         Li Jun Introduces new Xiaomi phone 

                                     by David Parmer

Can China innovate? Will China innovate? Does China innovate? It seems that some critics would rather make up their own answers to these questions than take a look at the evidence on the ground.They blame the government, the school system and the government industries for China’s inability to innovate. Rote learning and government interference are the big problems holding China back they say. What?

The evidence for Chinese innovation is clearly quite to the contrary of what critics are putting out. Current Chinese history is a story of constant and ongoing innovation. Chinese innovation can be seen in areas such as:

• Telecommunications
• Mobile technology
• Online services
• Biotechnology
• Medical devices

The current period in China’s development is seen as a movement from imitation to innovation, from producer to designer. It is clear that this transition is not only ongoing but has massive government and industry support. Forbes magazine states that there are no less than 1500 R&D centers set up in China by foreign companies alone, not to mention Chinese institutions. Locally there are an estimated 700 hi-tech incubators, and China’s universities turn out 700,000 engineering graduates annually. The amount of R&D facilities around the city of Hangzhou alone is staggering. Some estimates give a figure of 2% of GDP for the R&D budget nationally.

Recently US Vice President Joe Biden challenged a university graduating class to name one innovative product from China. A very interesting reply came from CNN Money (see below) that named four Chinese organizations that might answer his question:

• Xiaomi-mobile device maker
• Tencent-messaging service
• Huawei-telecom equipment maker
• B.G.I- Biotech leader

 Much of China’s innovation is directed internally, but Xiaomi and Tencent (We Chat) and Lenovo have already made their presence known in the world market.

In the history of science we have the famous question posed by British scientist Dr. Joseph Needham: Why did China, the birthplace of so many ancient technologies that pre-dated their western counterparts, lose its technological will and edge to Europe and the west? Now the focus for the 21st century and beyond should be: What innovations can we expect from the people who gave us gunpowder, printing and the magnetic compass? 

 Photo: Androidheadlines.com

 CNN Money: http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/29/technology/innovation/biden-china-innovation/

China-Hotbed of Innovation: http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2013/01/09/china-hotbed-of-innovation-for-our-planet-in-the-21st-century/