China's 'digital miracle' continues
A1: To me the most intriguing part of China's internet has been its quicker-than-expected growth built on continued innovative input for decades, as well as tremendous business opportunities for international cooperation following China's internet boom. China has created a “digital miracle” since it officially joined the internet in 1994. Its online users have outnumbered other countries since 2008. By June 2019, China's internet availability rate hit 61.2 percent while its netizens reached 854 million, more than the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy combined. China's vast digital market is already appealing. What is more, China's homegrown internet companies are embarking on international journeys for global expansion, which will prompt giant business opportunities for Europe and other continents.
A2: The prevailing list of global top internet companies by market value has made it plain. China has caught up and become a powerhouse of internet companies with Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu among the Top 10 internet companies globally. In 2018, 56 Chinese TMT (technology, media and telecommunications) companies went public with a total combined market capitalization of $222 billion as of June 10. China has a fleet of tech giants and a flood of startups that set up an internet ecosystem providing a whole package of digital experience to Chinese users. China as well keeps a competitive edge on the global level on 5G, AI and big data.
A3: A couple of Chinese apps are in the palm of my hand: WeChat, Ctrip, Alipay and Didi. WeChat is a must for work and for communication with our Chinese partners and colleagues, and to catch up with their life moments. Besides that, there are mini-programs joined by a large number of European shops, airports, museums and so on, which provide Chinese tech-savvy digital users with smooth services. WeChat pay and Alipay are expanding in Europe as an increasing number of Chinese tourists opt to spend their holidays there. Both Ctrip and Didi are awesomely helpful and practical for my stays in China. I also closely follow other Chinese apps Jinritoutiao of Bytedance and Chinese leading media outlet China Daily for fresh headline news.
A4: The ongoing commercialization of 5G is set to revolutionize our society and industries with breakthroughs enabling realization of many new technologies such as augmented reality, automation, IoT and smart cities. 5G is our rosy hope.
I am more optimistic about employment outlook brought by AI. Here I could share some estimates that will cheer people up: machines and algorithms in the workplace are expected to create 133 million new roles, but cause 75 million jobs to be displaced by 2022, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum called “The Future of Jobs 2018”. This means that the growth of AI could create 58 million net new jobs in the next few years.
