Yahoo Co-founder Jerry Yang on Friday said the world was at risk of losing some of the technological progress made in recent decades.
According to him, this can be due to the trade tensions and growing tech divide between the United States and China.
Yang warned of “unintended consequences’’ that can occur when Washington and Beijing back away from the collaborative nature of their relationship from the past three decades.
“I think the core of innovation is being very severely challenged by the current trend,’’ Yang said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Beijing.
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“We’re in danger of going back to the dark age if we do not standardise, if we do fracture into little pockets of markets that really don’t sustain themselves,’’ Yang said.
Yang Yuanqing, chairman and chief executive officer of Lenovo, said the idea of a technological “decoupling’’ between the U.S and China was unrealistic.
Different technological standards would create discomfort for consumers, Yang Yuanqing said.
“Every time you go to a different country, you’ll have to change your cellphone,’’ he said.
The concept of a technological “decoupling’’ between the East and West has gained prominence in recent months after Washington heavily restricted Chinese tech giant Huawei from buying U.S components and software.
No country can single-handedly build the infrastructure necessary for an economy that heavily relies on data, said Gary Dickerson, president and chief executive officer of U.S. semiconductor maker Applied Materials.
“The companies and the countries that will grow the fastest are the ones that collaborate best.
“Those are the companies that will win the future,’’ Dickerson said. (NAN)
