Web Summit Founder: PRC Could Dominate Tech Sector

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Facts

  • Paddy Cosgrave, the founder of the Web Summit, said the West has lost its lead on tech and innovation after being in the top position for half a century. He predicts that China will dominate the world of technology in the coming decade.1
  • Cosgrave said China will emerge as a global technology giant because of the mutually reinforcing role of the public and private sectors.2
  • The Irish co-founder of the global tech event was critical of the US and European countries, arguing that they "find it difficult when companies from elsewhere in the world outcompete them."3
  • He also added that the summit began by primarily attracting audiences from Europe and North America, but in the "past five years" has seen a significant shift with "a rise of participation from the Arab world."1
  • The Middle East is the region that will bring "most of the growth" in the technology sector, according to Cosgrave. The tech summit will showcase emerging companies at its next event in Qatar from Feb. 25-29 next year.1

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Thaiger World, and 3The Business Standard.

Narratives

  • Pro-China narrative, as provided by Harvard Business Review. China's rapid rise to technological and economic stardom is due to the West's underestimation of its culture and political system. When Washington first welcomed Beijing into the World Trade Organization 20 years ago, it thought China would have to adopt the same political system to achieve the same economic growth — that assumption has proven to be a grave mistake. Even many of the Chinese people believe their government is the reason for their prosperity, which shows the West needs to redesign its China strategy.
  • Anti-China narrative, as provided by The Wall Street Journal. Between the US' recent boost in domestic production and its anti-corruption probes into Chinese companies, the PRC's brief rise toward matching the West technologically has come to an end. Furthermore, the Chinese education system does not foster creativity — a key component of Western values that are necessary to become a world leader. Until Beijing can rid its economy of rampant corruption and underwhelming innovation, it will never surpass the US.

Predictions