Written by: Xinhuanet
Posted on: June 20, 2018 | 
| 中文
The official launch of the Hong Kong version of the e-wallet, Alipay HK, provides cashless services to Hong Kong residents
More and more new products of scientific innovations in the life of Chinese people have become a topic among foreign friends.
High-speed rail, Alipay, dockless shared bicycles and E-commerce, are called China’s New Four Inventions. This is the result of a survey conducted among young people from 20 countries along the Belt & Road. In its long history, China once promoted world progress with its ancient Four Great Inventions: paper-making, printing techniques, gunpowder and the compass, and now it is showcasing its development philosophy to the world with scientific innovations.
“Even a pancake seller uses Alipay.”
“In China, I can go out without my wallet and only a mobile phone, with which I can buy almost anything I want and eat anything I want. Even the pancake seller uses Alipay,” said Lin Jinlong, a Chinese-Cambodian student. Jinlong is a food lover. “Here, you can order takeout online, which is very convenient, but in my hometown, you have to go out if you want to eat something.”
When the Silk Road Research Institute of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) interviewed young people from 20 countries along the Belt and Road, on “the Chinese lifestyle that you want to bring home most,” Lin selected Alipay and E-commerce as his first choice.
Wu Hao, executive director of the institute, said, “The outcome of the interview very much focused on high-speed rail, Alipay, dockless shared bicycles and E-commerce, so we summarized them as the “New Four Inventions.”
“They are based on the innovations in science and technology, and show that China’s scientific innovations have largely improved the quality of life. The overseas students from the countries along the Belt and Road have got a profound understanding about it,” said Wu. Many officials of international organizations in China have also had the same idea.
Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO representative to China, is a cycling enthusiast. His WeChat image is that of a bicycle and he often retweets news about the rise of shared bicycles in China in his moments. He thinks that shared bicycles meet people’s need for point-to-point travel in a more user-friendly way, thus making public transportation more appealing and convenient. “Shared bicycles can also reduce traffic jams and encourage people to exercise, which is good for their mental and physical condition. All these help our cities to be healthy ones.”
“China is entering a new era of innovation.”
A shared bicycle is not just a bike. It is supported by a number of scientific and technological achievements, including satellite positioning system, mobile payment and big data. Chinese entrepreneurs took lead in the world, by combining these scientific elements to develop the dockless shared bicycle system, which has started to enter overseas markets such as Singapore and the UK.
When talking about this progress, Dr Schwartländer said, “China is entering a new era of innovation.” He believes the underlying reason is that, “the country has put a great amount of money into innovation,” hence a lot of innovation achievements come out, providing people with more choices and improving their life quality.
Rebecca Fannin, the founder of US Innovation Research Institute Silicon Dragon, thinks that “China’s scientific innovation is progressing rapidly.” She often visits China and has conducted in-depth research on the growth paths of several hi-tech companies in China. She is the author of Silicon Dragon: How China is winning the Tech Race.
She mentioned that technologies of mobile payment and online shopping originated from the US, but now China is already ahead of US, by quickly leapfrogging the era of personal computers and big shopping malls. “China’s mobile business is taking the lead in many aspects.”
Dr. Haruko Yoneyama, an expert working for China Research and Communication Center of JST (Japan Science and Technology Agency) said, “There are so many new technologies in Chinese life!” She also listed high-speed rail, Alipay, and dockless shared bicycles as examples. She believes that Japan has been no match for China in innovation and development over the past decade.
“They have promoted nationwide and even worldwide economic growth.”
When it comes to the Four New Inventions, Charlie Dai, principal analyst at Forrester Research Inc. of UK, said, “Not all these concepts, business models or related technologies come from China, but these products and services have improved the experiences of travelers, consumers and citizens, so they have promoted nationwide and even worldwide economic growth.”
Many foreigners hope to use Chinese achievements to push forward their own countries’ economic development. Lin Jinlong said that there are only two railways in Cambodia, and the speed is so slow that it takes about eight hours for people to travel for 300 kilometers, whereas when he travels from Beijing to Tianjin on a high-speed train, it takes only half an hour for more than 100 kilometers.
“The Chinese often say, ‘if one wants to be rich, build his way first.’ If Cambodia has high-speed rail, its economy will develop fast,” said Lin.
“Lin’s words show that the young people of the Belt and Road countries hope to bring home scientific products from China, and synergize them with their own countries’ development,” said Wu Hao, “But to a larger extent, the outreach of the Four New Inventions embodies China’s development philosophy of ‘innovation, coordination, green growth, opening-up and sharing,’ thus highlighting the Chinese style on the world stage.”
Translated by Xu Donglin
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