CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, March 13, 2018
TWO SESSIONS 15 Pony Ma shares his vision for business
NPC deputy believes digital economy could become the engine driving China’s next phase of development, affecting many sectors
By HE WEI in Shanghai and children through their and CHENG YU and interactions in game. LIU YUKUN in Beijing What is the value of “WeChat There may not be a phrase Red Packet”, and how is to properly encompass all the WeChat Pay developed over businesses operating as part of seas? Tencent Holdings Ltd. Giving money in a red pack Similarly, one can hardly live et during Spring Festival is a in China without using Ten cultural ritual in China. We cent’s services — be it messag want to digitalize that process ing, paying for coffee, hailing so we started a trial program taxis, listening to music or in our internal network. It was watching videos — at least popular immediately, so we once a day. decided to promote it to the Such rapid progress is even public. Now it has over 800 beyond the imagination of million active users per Pony Ma Huateng, a deputy to month, which is quite sizable. the 13th National People’s The popularity of “Red Congress, and founder and Packet” facilitates the develop chairman of the firm that ment of mobile payment. stands among the world’s top More people started to link 10 most valuable companies bank cards to their WeChat with a market cap of half a tril account so that they can trans lion US dollars. fer money or make a payment. Two decades ago, Shenzhen Going forward, it can be based Tencent started out with meaningful for business messenger service provider expansion from online to off QQ, but its bestknown prod line in fields like bike sharing uct today is WeChat, whose and food delivering. user number has just sur WeChat Pay is also working passed 1 billion globally. on its overseas expansion Unlike most messenger through cooperation with apps, WeChat has become far third party payment service more than a mere communi providers. We aim at offering a cations tool. It now acts as a more convenient shopping “portal” connecting thou experience for Chinese people sands of products that deal when they travel abroad. with wealth management, However, one big challenge civic affairs and an array of is to apply for certain licenses onlinetooffline demands. by local regulators. Also, we And it doesn’t stop there. look forward to more technical Tencent owns Clash of Clans Pony Ma Huateng (second left), chairman of Tencent Holdings Ltd, answers questions at a news conference on the sidelines of the two sessions. TANG MINGMING / FOR CHINA DAILY innovation and better infra maker Supercell and the structure in local markets. smash hit King of Glory, and still makes the majority of its How can internet companies need to solve problems among puting to bridge between Why is Tencent actively pro profit from gaming. participate in the govern CV producers, consumers and retailers and consumers. Many moting cultural development? It is also a prolific buyer in ment’s digitization reform? demanders. However, intelli retailers have come to us and Chinese culture has thou other sectors, aggressively Last year, we piloted a pro gent manufacturing involves showed their interest for fur sands of years’ history abun advancing, for example, into the gram allowing residents in We ... have no plan Name: Ma Huateng coordination between ther cooperation. We think AI dant with many great legends. retail front, investing in Carre Guangzhou to link their iden Age: 46 upstream and downstream retail is promising as it gives With good screenwriting and four SA’s China unit among oth tity cards to the WeChat mes to start our own Nationality: Chinese manufacturers, and within technical support for an online storytelling, those legends can er bids to revamp the country’s saging app. Currently, we are Education: manufacturing itself. How we offline integrated user experi be presented through various oldschool retailing using data conducting a program with retail business, but Bachelor’s degree in can use technologies includ ence. For instance, a lot of retail mediums like film and TV. I also backed technologies. the Guangdong provincial rather to support computer sciences from ing AI to lower cost of modules stores embrace mobile pay believe with good productions, During a twohour media government in building a digi Shenzhen University and improve efficiencies is ment and a digitalized product those legends won’t lose ground conference in Beijing, Ma talized information center, our retail partners Career: also an important part of intel supply chain. No matter how to Hollywood franchises. shared his insights about which enables private and 1998present: founder, ligent manufacturing. popular online shopping is, off We’ve undervalued those opportunities in China and Stateowned companies to by deploying data chairman of Tencent Hold One latest instance is that line shopping will never be legends in the past — that is around the globe and the take part in the authorities’ ings Ltd we’ve proposed AI into the replaced as customers need why we emphasize their devel development strategies of Ten digitalization process. Such a techniques.” manufacturing process of Fox some reallife experience. Our opment right now. Our invest cent’s multiple business lines, publicprivate partnership CHINA DAILY conn to help highdefinition partners get to keep all data to ment will focus on those of as well as the conglomerate’s can be used to offer the gov Ma Huateng, founder of Tencent cameras adapt to changes of their own. That is what we call highest possibility to succeed. investment logic. ernment a full set of digital modules, as some modules “decentralized” approach in Now domestic films are gradu solutions in the future. may wear out and will become our retail endeavors. ally dominating the market What opportunities do you What is Tencent’s strategic Simply put, a patient can inaccurate as time passes by. If and they have rather high pro think China’s reform and Tencent has done many layout in artificial intelli conduct the whole process of we can introduce such How do you prevent teenag duction value. I believe there’s openingup have brought to acquisitions and invest gence, notably in the medi medical treatment, including advanced technologies to the ers from becoming addicted great potentiality to explore in the private economy? ments. What is your invest cal sector? making an appointment, pay manufacturing process, it to gaming? our traditional culture. I grew up in Shenzhen, ment logic? Many of our offerings, ment and receiving medicine, would be a big step forward. Our gaming business group where Tencent was set up and First, we invest in content including precise advertising all through our mini programs. We are also expected to coop has set up a platform from What’s your take on block developed. I thus had the based industries. We are very and personalized content rec Everyone can do it by simply erate with specific industries which parents can get login chain? opportunity to witness the willing to invest in good IP ommendations, are using AI. scanning a QR code — the pop to better comprehend their and access information of Blockchain is a good tech entire process of reform and (intellectual property), as Ten In the future, AI can be simu ularity of WeChat in China will demands and bottlenecks. their children’s gaming nology but it really depends on openingup. It’s indeed a mira cent is at the forefront of cul lated as a brain to process lower that threshold. account. We have been doing how one utilizes it. There are cle that the country can lift tural and contentbased massive data at lower costs We focus on technologies What is Tencent’s strategy in that for a year and received still a lot of risks in the virtual some 700 million people out of sectors. Second, we invest in and find a learning pattern on such as face recognition, which the field of retail? very positive feedbacks. currency ICO and Tencent has poverty in just four decades. companies that are in line its own. This is a brain that will enhance capabilities of In the past month, Tencent In addition to the platform, no plan to step into that busi Thanks to the openingup with our development strate will never get tired. hospitals in many aspects. In has just set up a special unit, we also have a protection sys ness. However, we are explor policy, companies are achiev gies. We would lean more On the medical front, we fact, we do these businesses which combines all resources tem on our hit title King of Glo ing other fields that can adopt ing highquality growth. I towards backing our partners don’t have many advantages more through cooperation across business sectors, in ry. It guarantees that children the blockchain technologies hope that China’s economy strategically instead of hold in this industry but we already with hospitals rather than order to serve the surging needs under 12 can only play one into verification of receipts will maintain steady growth in ing controlling shares directly. have some investments. First, doing it on our own. for smart retail ... We, however, hour per day and have no and documents. The tech the long term and the country Since we don’t necessarily we developed an AI medical have no plan to start our own access to the game after 9 pm. nique guarantees that there’s will pay enough attention to expand our business to each image product called Miying How do you view the indus retail business, but rather to Simply banning games can neither duplication nor the development of the digital and every sector, we support that can be used to help screen trial internet? support our retail partners by never be an effective solution change on the original version. economy, which could become and empower our partners to some cancers. Second, we are The industrial internet we deploying data techniques. for addiction prevention. A the engine driving the next success. This is the ecosystem offering solutions to develop often talk about is still in the To achieve that, we plan to better way is to facilitate com Contact the writers at phase of growth. we want to create. intelligent hospitals. early phase where we only develop apps and cloud com munications between parents [email protected]. Innovation key to make Chinese growth more innovative, competitive
The Chinese people have economy more innovative mobile payment; and China is joining the race. Guiyang, cap been inspired by the famous and competitive. now the world’s largest online ital of Southwest China’s Guiz saying three decades ago: “Basic research and applica shopping market. hou province, has become a “Science and technology are tionoriented basic research Dockless shared bicycles, pioneer in the application of primary productive forces,” will be strengthened. A num A number of highspeed trains, mobile pay big data technology, using and are now promoting inno ber of major science and tech ment and ecommerce have cloud computing to develop vation to achieve continuous nology innovation programs major science and earned a reputation as China’s modern agriculture. development. will be launched, and topqual new “four great inventions” in Shenzhen in South China’s Unsatisfied with being the ity national laboratories will be technology inno modern times. Guangdong province, the pio world’s factory only, China’s set up,” the premier said. These innovations have neer city in innovation for the leaders on various occasions Over the past few years, the vation programs reshaped the way of living in past 40 years, has set the goal have called on the country to Chinese have been inspired by will be launched, China and now they are enter to become a worldclass sus transform from a “Made in the country’s landmark ing foreign markets. tainable innovative city by China” to a “Created in China” achievements in science and and topquality There were 3.87 million sci 2035. model, with innovation clearly technology. China successfully entists and researchers across The Global Innovation playing an important role. cloned macaques from somat Technology experts check the condition of the Tianhe1 supercom national laborato China in 2016. Index has shown that China When delivering a govern ic cells, launched the world’s puter at the National SuperComputer Center in Tianjin. XINHUA China has set the aim of rose three places to 22nd on ment work report to the first first quantum satellite and ries will be set up.” becoming an “innovation the list of the world’s most session of the 13th NPC, Pre quantum experiments at nation” by 2020, an interna innovative nations in 2017, the mier Li Keqiang said China space scale, and created the the innovation progress does Every minute during the Premier Li Keqiang tional leader in innovation by only middleincome country will do more in implement world’s fastest supercomput not stop at the national level. morning rush hours, China 2030, and a world powerhouse to join the top 25 innovative ing the innovationdriven ers Sunway TaihuLight and Chinese innovators are also has 40,000 carhailing jour in scientific and technological economies. development strategy, and Tianhe2. changing people’s everyday neys; 70 percent of Chinese innovation by 2050. keep on making the Chinese The list goes on and on, and lives. mobile netizens are using Cities nationwide are also XINHUA