Specialists see innovation, digital tech as key to South-South cooperation

What they say

Fu Xiaolan, fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences, professor and director of the Technology and Management Center for Development at the University of Oxford

It is important to promote the innovative application of digital technologies and share the benefits of innovation with the global community.

It is also important to leverage digital technology to fill the (development) gap and allow developing countries to join the digital wave.

South-South cooperation in science, technology and innovation (STI) is not only about cooperation on STI but also cooperation and coordination on STI policies and management practices that incentivize, promote, nurture and support innovation and technology transfer.

Innovation is an important driver of long-term economic growth and sustainable development.

I see greater innovation from Tencent. 

Through a study on the company, we found a value change: the employees feel the company has put people first, and the company has shown a willingness to serve the employees instead of managing them.

We also found Tencent emphasizes self-motivation and autonomy of people. When employees can find their own passions and stay energetic, then the organization will be more dynamic.

Zhou Taidong, associate research fellow of the Development Research Center of the State Council

Different forms of technical assistance have always been a key feature in China's foreign aid programs including equipment donations, agricultural demonstration centers and joint laboratories.

While infrastructure connectivity remains at the heart of the Belt and Road Initiative, the BRI has evolved into "a road of science and technology" that places innovation high on the agenda.

In addition, digital technological innovation is injecting unprecedented momentum into the global economy and is propelling both the economy and society toward a more intelligent and smarter era. Practice has proved that digital technology can be applied in the least-developed regions of the world, providing more convenient trade, and financial and social services.

The fast-moving technology frontier offers some developing countries the opportunity to leapfrog. Going forward, the digital economy is potentially the largest and most important opportunity for dynamic change in sustainable development worldwide.

Sonia Bashir Kabir, vice co-chair of the Council of United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries

South-South cooperation refers to the technical cooperation among developing countries in the Global South. The countries of the South have contributed to more than half the world's growth in recent years; intra-South trade is higher than ever, accounting for more than a quarter of all world trade; and the outflows of foreign direct investment from the South represent a third of the global flows.

Together with political dialogue and financial cooperation, South-South cooperation promotes a large number of experiential and expertise exchanges that can help solve specific problems.

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, there are challenges such as the digital divide, low digital literacy and a lack of relevant applications in certain areas. It is necessary to leverage technology to create a "digital financial footprint" to serve the under-served, promote innovation and new business models, increase people's digital skills and promote digital governance such as developing a rational, legal framework for data protection and cybersecurity to build trust in regulatory systems.

Nobuya Haraguchi, chief of the Industrial Policy Research Unit at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Digital technologies are reshaping the industrial landscape. They are driving change at the firm level, supporting industrial firms' resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis based on the UNIDO 2021 survey, namely "The impact of COVID-19 on manufacturing firms around the world", showed that digitally advanced firms suffered less impact than the rest.

Digital technologies are also driving industrial growth across countries. China ranks in the top category of production and use of digital technologies. According to the analysis done in the IDR 2020, China is one of the 10 front-runners in the production and use of these technologies by ranking very high both in terms of patenting activity (ranked 4th) and in terms of exporting capital goods that embed these technologies (ranked 3rd) and is the only developing country that made it to the top category.

Cheng Hua, executive director of the Center for Digital Economy Research at Renmin University of China

The innovation of digital technologies and the digital economy provide a vast space for international cooperation, especially among developing countries. The development and innovation of digital platforms, such as Tencent and Huawei, chase the maximum scale of networks and build the internal ecosystem, which naturally triggers the motivation to search and expand the space of international cooperation.

From the perspective of platform economy development in China, platforms play an extremely important role in filling the digital divide both domestically and internationally. This economy possesses the characteristics of accessibility, promoting the communication of information and knowledge, as well as helping and educating vulnerable groups. In addition, with the construction of ecosystem, the platforms include vulnerable groups in the market of employment, providing a large space for niche products.

The platforms, sitting at the edge of technology, are one of the most important powers participating in and building the digital infrastructure. However, the growth and development of platforms bring new challenges to the supervision of the market. It is essential to have inter-country regulatory coordination, on issues such as cross-border data and clear regulations that are inclusive and prudent.