Premier Li Keqiang has stressed the need for more state investment in the internet sector. Photo: Reuters
Posted by George Chen, managing editor of SCMP.com International Edition, on Mar 08, 2015:
Beijing
apparently believes it has finally found the right formula for economic
transformation after discussing it for many years without any
significant progress.
Premier Li Keqiang's so-called
Internet Plus strategy.
In
Li's presentation of his working report at the annual session of the
National People's Congress, he spent some time explaining his scheme,
which focuses on
internet-powered start-ups and how
new technology can be applied to
traditional sectors.
Communist
Party mouthpiece the People's Daily described Li's strategy as being as
important as the Industrial Revolution. I admire such ambition, but I
also have reservations.
Outside the Great Hall of the People, it is easy to see the
impact of internet-related business on the nation's economy.
Interest
in China's homegrown internet industry leaders, including Pony Ma
Huateng of Tencent, one of the mainland's leading portals, and Robin Li
Yanhong of Baidu, known as the "Google of China", far exceeds interest
in the bosses of China's Big Four state-owned banks.
Last week in
Beijing, when Ma, an NPC delegate, tried to organise a small media
briefing, about 200 reporters rushed to meet him, asking questions about
everything from his own business to national economic development.
In
comparison, Zhang Jianguo, chief of China Construction Bank, one of the
Big Four, joked in front of Premier Li last week that big banks had
become a "weak force" and less popular, suggesting a lack of government
policy support.
Ma is clearly a big fan of
Internet Plus. "The internet has opened
new frontiers including
internet finance, medical services and education that didn't exist
before. It should also be extended to traditional industries like
manufacturing, energy and agriculture," he said.
Economic transformation is
a must as the country cannot simply rely on cheap domestic labour and
foreign investments to maintain high growth. On the other hand, the
internet may help China open new frontiers for business as Ma suggested,
but Beijing apparently does not want to make all content on the
internet available to its large population.
We all know the key thing about the internet is
freedom. If Beijing misses the point and continues to censor access to information, Premier Li's new
Internet Plus strategy
will probably just get more Chinese to shop online rather than have any
significant and long-term impact on the country's long-awaited economic
transformation.
Marketing Team
http://nicenic.net
ICANN CNNIC HKIRC Accredited Registrar
