The Chamber of Commerce goes back to the future

As a key stop on their extensive trade mission to China’s Pearl River Delta from 3 to 10 November — including Hong Kong and Macao, which we will cover separately — 25 business leaders representing 17 Monaco companies travelled to Shenzhen to discover nothing less than our future.

China’s technology capital, Shenzhen, was developed in the 1980s at the instigation of the country’s then leader, Deng Xiaoping. From the outset, the aim was to make it a testing ground for a China seeking to embrace modernity through technology. That vision has been realised: China’s economic and technological development over the past forty years remains unparalleled anywhere in the world.

Representing a wide range of sectors, all affected to some degree by digital transformation — and who isn’t? — the 25 business leaders began by exploring the streets, where they discovered an outstanding quality of life.

From Monaco’s perspective, a harmonious metropolis of 20 million people might seem inconceivable. Yet China has made it a reality.

With electric vehicles making up the vast majority of traffic, visitors are immediately struck by the lack of noise and pollution, even during rush hour!

It was then time to understand how this miracle worked.

Someone had to give the Monaco delegation the key to unlocking these secrets. That someone was… Martin Péronnet, CEO of Monaco Telecom.

Through one of its shareholders, Xavier Niel, Monaco’s national telecommunications operator has strong ties to Huawei, the jewel in China’s technological crown.

To put its scale into perspective, Huawei employs 215,000 people worldwide and has a global presence. The technology giant is the world leader in telecommunications infrastructure and China’s leading smartphone company. It is also at the forefront of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and automotive technology, and is one of the main forces driving China’s innovation and technological self-reliance.

One figure says it all: 114,000 of its employees work in research and development — nearly 54% of its workforce.

This was precisely the side of its business that Huawei presented to the delegation: the secrets of the ‘smart city’, as well as the potential of its artificial intelligence research to transform banking, communications, hospitality, events, retail, warehouse management, every form of transport and energy distribution, particularly renewables. Above all, the presentation explored healthcare, including a database first established at a Shanghai hospital and now expanding across China, where the analysis of clinical cases could spark a revolution in modern medicine.

Amazed by this glimpse into a world of possibilities, the Monaco business leaders rounded off their visit with a tour of the world’s most advanced humanoid robotics research laboratory. There, robots with remarkably fluid, powerful movements stood alongside astonishingly lifelike human replicas, immersing visitors in scenes worthy of the most striking works of science fiction.

For the delegation, it was a final glimpse of the world of tomorrow — before it reaches us here, sooner or later.

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Press contacts: Benoît Ulrich / Delphine Quilichini – presse@mcc.mc

Photo credits: Monaco Chamber of Commerce