Wanxiang Blockchain Du Yu, Qulian Technology Li Wei, Ant Financial Blockchain Yuan Liwei, and Xu Wei from the Industrial Internet and Internet of Things Research Institute of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology shared the current situation and trends of the combination of Web3 and industrial blockchain.
Source: Wanxiang Blockchain
On September 20th, at the 2023 Shanghai Blockchain International Week and Blockchain Global Summit hosted by Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, Du Yu, head of Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, Li Wei, founder and CEO of Qulian Technology, Yuan Liwei, chief architect of the Ant Financial Blockchain platform, and Xu Wei, director of the Shanghai Operations Center of the Industrial Internet and Internet of Things Research Institute of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, held a roundtable discussion on the theme "Industrial Blockchain, Where to Apply Web3?".
Host: Du Yu, Head of Wanxiang Blockchain Lab
Guests: Li Wei, Founder and CEO of Qulian Technology Yuan Liwei, Chief Architect of Ant Financial Blockchain Platform Xu Wei, Director of the Shanghai Operations Center of the Industrial Internet and Internet of Things Research Institute of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology
Du Yu: Everyone, I am Du Yu from Wanxiang Blockchain Lab and also the organizer of this event. Today, I am honored to have three expert guests in the industrial blockchain field to discuss the development of industrial blockchain. Many people say that the industrial blockchain faces many problems, and many companies in the industrial blockchain space are not doing well. But we seem to see many new opportunities, especially from yesterday morning to today, many guests not only talked about blockchain but also discussed the combination of blockchain and AI. This time, we also invited guests from Hong Kong to internationalize better and have in-depth discussions with the three experts.
Now, I would like each of the three to give a brief introduction and greet everyone, and introduce what your organization is doing. First, let's have the unicorn enterprise in the blockchain industry, Li Wei.
Li Wei: I am very happy to be back at the Wanxiang Blockchain Summit. I am Li Wei from Qulian Technology. We focus on building consortium chains to empower the entire real economy with blockchain technology. From the research and development of blockchain underlying technology to self-controllable blockchains, we can serve various industries, such as finance, government affairs, energy and carbon neutrality, and judiciary. We have been participating since the first Wanxiang summit, and we are very happy to grow along with the industry's development. That's my self-introduction, thank you.
Yuan Liwei: I am very happy to be at Wanxiang again. I have participated in Wanxiang several times before. I am Yuan Liwei from Ant Financial. Ant Financial is a company under Ant Group that serves the digital transformation of industries and governments. Through our technology, we empower industries and governments for digital transformation. Our technology includes several solutions: blockchain, privacy computing, AI, IoT, cloud-native, security technology, and others. We have implemented projects in various regions and industries to help enterprises achieve digital transformation and trustworthiness. Most of our business is B2B. If anyone is interested in digital collectibles, we have incubated a B2C project called Jingtan based on our B2B genes. Currently, there are not many companies in China doing digital collectibles. In the early days, there were hundreds of companies, but now there are only about a dozen. You are welcome to search for Jingtan on Alipay. There is a free lottery event going on, and the winning rate is quite high, especially during the recent Asian Games.
Xu Wei: Leaders and guests, good morning! I am from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. As a national-level research institute directly under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, we are engaged in the construction, operation, and ecosystem building of "Xinghuo·Lianwang," a national-level digital economy infrastructure.
Du Yu: The backgrounds of the three guests are representative and are leading companies in their respective fields. Qulian focuses on blockchain, and Ant Financial integrates blockchain as an important technology in its daily operations. From a national strategic perspective on information and technology, blockchain is an important part, such as "Xinghuo·Lianwang," which is a crucial infrastructure.
Returning to the issue, when discussing the application of industrial blockchain, everyone feels it is difficult. There are also challenges in commercial implementation. From your respective perspectives, could you each briefly discuss the current challenges faced by the industrial blockchain?
Li, we have known each other for a long time. This year's summit is the ninth year, and our youth has been dedicated to blockchain during these nine years. We must have encountered many difficulties and challenges in the process, and I would like to hear your insights.
Li Wei: Du Yu and I are like brothers. The most precious time has been spent in the blockchain industry. The blockchain industry is not easy. But which industry is easy? Any industry with enormous value will face significant challenges. For example, the current hot topic, AIGC, has also experienced a significant decline in popularity compared to a month or two ago and has entered a challenging phase. It's not that blockchain is not good, but as the industry develops and the industry's understanding of technology evolves, the initial excitement will gradually dissipate, and it will enter a challenging phase.
It's not that it's not good, but it is indeed a systemic engineering project. For example, when you think of artificial intelligence, a typical application that comes to mind is facial recognition. When you see "facial recognition," you know what it is for, but when you see "blockchain," even though each word is familiar, even if I explain it for three hours, you may still not understand what it is for. In fact, technology has no good or bad, high or low. For example, artificial intelligence. Some technologies, we can understand their use. For example, placing a machine here, whether it's a hotel or an airport, and doing facial recognition takes only 1 second, which is a very direct and rapid response technology.
Blockchain is not a single point where you come and use it. We need to organize business models, cooperation, and assets through blockchain. For example, it's not about using blockchain to pay salaries within a company; no one would do that, it's unnecessary. Whether it's a consortium chain, public chain, or other chains, it must involve multiple parties, not just one party. In all honesty, a single chain has no value. This raises a question: how do we coordinate? After so many years of working with blockchain, we need to coordinate various participating parties. And each participating party has its own personalized demands. In the past, when we sold a database, an operating system, or even a chip, as long as we satisfied Party A, the deal was done. But with blockchain, it's not about selling something to one person; it's about bringing the entire ecosystem together, including Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Wu, whether it's ToC or ToB. This is an ecosystem that builds mutual trust and simultaneously generates traffic, which presents a huge challenge. Therefore, the biggest challenge in implementing blockchain is not a single issue but building the ecosystem of cooperation. In this process, we must face different ecosystems, different ideas, and different interests. What should we do in this situation? This has been the biggest challenge faced by the industry over the years.
But on the contrary, this is also the charm of this industry. These unfavorable trends have become increasingly clear in recent years. Today's theme is Web3, and with the emergence of new technologies like Web3, the positioning of blockchain is becoming clearer. Compared to three or five years ago, our applications and ecosystems have become increasingly clear, and we are gradually seeing breakthroughs in certain areas. In 2016 and 2017, we talked more about macro perspectives. Have we made breakthroughs in certain industries? Have we reached the most frontline demands? In fact, we haven't. In some industries, blockchain has become an indispensable and frontline technology. This is also visible in the industry. Therefore, challenges and opportunities coexist. As I mentioned, there are no simple industries, and we are both in pain and joy. I often say that we are doing technology, and if something is straightforward, we wouldn't be doing it. I am currently full of hope for this industry, but of course, the challenges are also significant. Let's work together to create a better world of value internet based on blockchain. Thank you all!
Du Yu: Li Wei mentioned an important point, which is a systemic engineering project. What we are doing is bringing different stakeholders together, and many times it's not a technical problem. Over the years, I have become increasingly clear that, unlike focusing on the trustworthy digitization of assets, this is where we believe significant value can be realized.
Below is Ant Financial. In blockchain, trust is very important. The emergence of Alipay was also based on trust. Alipay and Ant Financial have more application scenarios. Is it easier for you to do blockchain than for startup companies to start from 0 to 1? Are you facing different types of challenges?
Yuan Liwei: Just now, Li mentioned blockchain, especially in the domestic consortium chain, there is a difficult point, which is that it is difficult to build the ecosystem. I will share a few of my own experiences regarding this point.
First, why is it difficult to build this ecosystem? We are combining blockchain with various industries, and each industry has its own characteristics. You must delve into the industry's know-how and integrate blockchain into the entire process for deep restructuring to realize its value. So, in this process, it is a lengthy process that requires a deep understanding of the entire industry. Each industry is separate, so there is no connection between different industries. After many years of effort, we have gradually seen some integration within certain industries, which is the first point and a difficult point in the ecosystem.
Second, the starting point is different. Internationally, when it comes to blockchain, there is first the chain, then Ethereum, and various ecological applications grow on the chain. Industrial blockchain starts with a pain point, a point of multi-party collaboration or point-to-point collaboration on the chain, which can solve the pain point. After reshaping the pain point with the previous industrial process, it completes an enhanced trust, and after this, it becomes a business. Different businesses form different chains, forming one isolated island after another. Cross-chain has been mentioned more in the past two years, and I am very optimistic about the direction of cross-chain. As more and more industrial chains, one by one consortium chains, have more demands for interconnection in the future, this is the second difficult point.
Third, blockchain in China has a somewhat difficult aspect because there are economic incentives within the chain. In consortium chains, there is a lack of native incentive measures, and it relies more on the traditional roles of various links in the industry for offline coordination. Therefore, the internal economic incentives, as the driving force for collaboration on the chain, are not as common as they are in international chains, and the collaborative value of the chain is not fully realized.
Another point that many people find difficult is that the concept of blockchain comes from Bitcoin. The whitepaper of Bitcoin is very simple, stating that it is a peer-to-peer payment system. What is a payment system? It needs to conduct transactions, and transactions must have a medium of exchange. However, many chains lack this aspect and have been developed into a form of multi-party collaboration and trusted sharing. This form of evidence does not have the attribute of transactions, and the complete value is not fully realized.
The above is my personal opinion.
Du Yu: Just mentioned connecting multiple parties. In the solutions we have seen over the years, I feel that many scenarios are still in the local area network stage. The upstream and downstream of an industrial chain form a chain, and different chains are not connected. This is because it involves privacy issues. Returning to the term "Xinghuo·Lianwang," the last two words are very good, "Lianwang" (network). The chain needs to form a network, moving from the local area network stage to the wide area network stage to have large-scale applications. I also want to hear Xu's original intention for "Xinghuo·Lianwang" and whether it also faces challenges when pushing it further.
Xu Wei: There are definitely challenges because challenges and opportunities coexist. The Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the development of blockchain. As early as 2019, the Central Political Bureau held the 18th collective study on the current situation and trends of blockchain technology. Comrade Xi Jinping emphasized the important role of integrated application of blockchain technology in new technological innovation and industrial transformation. Blockchain should be a breakthrough in core technology independent innovation, with a clear focus and increased investment to tackle key core technologies and accelerate the development of blockchain technology and industrial innovation.
In the face of various challenges, we have put forward three key directions:
Strengthen basic research, enhance original innovation capabilities, and strive to lead the country in the forefront of theory and occupy the high ground of innovation, gaining new advantages in the industry. Promote collaborative research, accelerate core technology breakthroughs, and provide secure and controllable technical support for the development of blockchain applications. Strengthen blockchain standardization research to enhance international discourse and rule-making power.
Accelerate industrial development, leverage market advantages, further connect the innovation chain, application chain, and value chain. Build an industrial blockchain ecosystem, accelerate the deep integration of blockchain with cutting-edge information technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, and promote integrated innovation and application integration. Accelerate the construction of a national-level blockchain infrastructure that serves the "dual circulation" development pattern, with domestic circulation as the main focus and international and domestic circulations promoting each other, which is what we are currently promoting with "Xinghuo·Lianwang" and "Xinghuo·Lianwang" International (ASTRON).
Strengthen the construction of talent teams, establish a sound talent training system, create various high-level talent training platforms, and cultivate a group of leading figures and high-level innovation teams.
In summary, I believe that there is great potential for industrial blockchain.
Du Yu: Today's theme is the next stop, Web3.0. There are different names in many places, some call it Web3, and some call it Web3.0. I see that the Chinese government and the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association add the .0, and the European Union also writes it in full. In the blockchain industry, the profit rate likes to call it Web3, but I understand that Web3 may refer to blockchain, and Web3.0 may refer to the next generation of the internet. So, the title this time is Web3.0, indicating that we not only want to see blockchain but also, from yesterday and today, many guests talked about AI. Therefore, today's Web3.0 implies a broader internet, including AI, blockchain, the Internet of Things, and the metaverse, among various other technologies. When integrated, it will definitely spark opportunities with immense imaginative space. I also want to hear from the guests about the narrative of the new Web3.0 or Web3 and the opportunities it brings to industrial blockchain.
Li Wei: I agree with using Web3.0 instead of Web3. Why? Previously, there was Web1, Web2, so why is it Web3 when it reaches 3? If it is at 3, this is a very large scope. Currently, it may not reach 3.0, so it can be 2.5 or 2.8. Because the development of things is not achieved overnight, including blockchain. There has been a lot of innovation at our summit. If there is not timely regulation or insufficient regulation, it will create certain risks. In the face of significant risks, it is better to take a step back, to 2.5, which is also okay. This is my personal understanding, which may not be correct.
Secondly, if it's 3.0, everyone first thinks of blockchain, or not just blockchain, but also includes AIGC, privacy computing, metaverse, and so on. In fact, what you ultimately produce is the most important, rather than what is most important. Previously, it was about blockchain +, but since last year, I have talked more about + blockchain. We must clearly see the position of a technology in business. Blockchain is an infrastructure, a relatively earlier infrastructure in the technology stack. It is more obvious compared to chips and operating systems, but compared to artificial intelligence and XR, it is a bit earlier. Indeed, Web3 is the entire technology stack, requiring various technologies to cooperate, especially blockchain, which is the core collaborative support in Web3. If it does not have the new productivity of AIGC, or DePIN, or the reflection of the physical world by the Internet of Things, it is something that is neither here nor there. This is not a derogatory term; it must be something that must be combined with other technologies. Without the support of other technologies, blockchain will definitely have a significant impact. For example, AIGC, previously known as "seeing is believing," used to be Photoshop, but now AIGC can create something out of nothing. We have done research, and maybe many years later, the entire internet will be based on AIGC. It's not about you using Photoshop, but everything is artificially generated. In some areas, such as live streaming, a room may be empty, but it is indeed productive. Also, with the birth of AIGC, recently we have been talking with some partners, and productivity has been greatly improved. The entertainment industry, digital cultural industry, and so on have all received great assistance. But on the other hand, unfortunately, we recently cooperated with the provincial public security department. There is a recent film called "All In," and the very obvious application of AIGC is telecom fraud. I can FaceTime you, and there are four of us on stage, all on video, and it's also a live broadcast. For example, if I FaceTime Mr. Du and ask for a loan of 100,000 yuan, Mr. Du sees my face, hears my voice, and sees my video and hears my voice calling him. Sorry, but in reality, this is a digital person. Chinese people value personal relationships, so it's my face and my voice. Will you lend me the money? But it's actually fake. This is not something I made up; it was told to me by the public security department, and this kind of thing has already happened. Of course, we responded quickly and could directly cut off the card, but think about how difficult it is to guard against this.
Web3 greatly enhances our productivity, and this comes with risks. Does this mean we can't develop artificial intelligence anymore, that we should stop? No, we still need to develop it. But we need to use blockchain, for example, with cameras, we need to use FaceTime, which is actually a node on the blockchain, to provide evidence on the chain that this is physically captured, not artificially generated. Blockchain then becomes the last line of defense for the entire digital world. Without blockchain, how do you know if something is real or fake? Because the naked eye can no longer distinguish, so the next generation of Web3 is both an opportunity and a challenge. Especially with the emergence of production tools, it can greatly change productivity. In simple terms, the cost of forgery is getting lower and lower, and blockchain must provide protection to become a truly secure Web3.0. This is something we must consider, and it is also the starting point for technology to work together. It is bound to be a system, and this is the next generation of Web3.
Some people say that if Web3 becomes popular, blockchain will no longer be hot, but that's not true. On the contrary, it has made our needs more clear, and it is a very specific need.
That's all I have to say.
Du Yu: Thank you, Mr. Li. I have always felt that blockchain is a particularly good regulatory technology, not only for regulating the behavior of natural persons and economic actions, but also the best and most native technology for regulating AI behavior.
Ant Financial has always had comprehensive support for blockchain. I believe that when you first laid out the blockchain, you saw the trend of technology integration.
Yuan Liwei: Alipay initially focused on escrow transactions, solving the trust between buyers and sellers. Therefore, Ant Group understands the value of trust very well. Our values include the phrase "Because of trust, it's simple," and blockchain is the technology of trust.
I have a question. Everyone talks about Web3, Web3.0, and the metaverse. Which concept do you think is broader?
Here's my opinion. I think the context in which Web3 and Web3.0 were born is different. Web3 was proposed more by the Crypto community, emphasizing the attribute of ownership and decentralization. In the Web1 era, it was about reading, in the Web2 era, it was about reading and writing, and in the Web3 era, it adds the attribute of ownership, emphasizing Web3 after decentralization.
Web3.0 has a broader scope. I even believe that the scope of 3.0 includes the metaverse, but the cornerstone under the metaverse is the ownership of Web3.
Returning to the issue of trust in blockchain technology, whether it's Web3, Web3.0, or the metaverse, the future holds great potential.
Think about it, in ancient times, which city was the most prosperous? It was the city with developed trade and commerce. If it's not forced trade, it's basically a win-win situation. If something has more value to you than it does to me, and vice versa, it's a win-win. Trade itself involves the issue of trust costs, and with trust, people can engage in transactions over a larger scope.
In the past, it was difficult to imagine transacting with smart contracts, but in DeFi, the smart contract market maker may be someone you don't know at all, but with the technology, you trust them, and transactions occur on a larger scale of collaboration. Transactions themselves can bring prosperity.
Secondly, blockchain is a peer-to-peer payment system. Previously, Ant Financial also explored this area. Through blockchain technology, we did cross-border transactions. I don't know if you remember, in 2018, Alipay's wallet in Hong Kong and GCash's wallet were supervised on the chain by Standard Chartered Bank, and the overall cross-border settlement application was achieved in 10 seconds, and it's still running, with a considerable volume.
Real-time settlement brings about an improvement in transaction efficiency, combined with the micro-payment technology in Layer 2 of the chain, and combined with IoT devices. Now, there are many scenarios where you watch videos, pay electricity bills, and pay as much as you use, but now, due to technological benefits, the payment action is settled on a monthly or daily basis. In the future, through smart contracts and micro-payment technology, real-time settlement can be achieved. The extreme improvement in efficiency brings about overall transaction prosperity, which is imaginable in Web3 or Web3.0. The future imaginative space is very large, but we need to do the basic technology well and truly solidify the points of trust value and extreme efficiency improvement.
Du Yu: After discussing so much, it has always revolved around needs. Doing payment well, all other technologies are auxiliary means. From the perspective of Mr. Yuan from Ant Financial, all technologies serve my core business. If it's useful and can improve, I will use it, rather than focusing on what future technologies can do, which is not important. Of course, what future technologies can do is also important, but we must pragmatically do these things.
Later, at the Institute of Information and Communications, many macro research reports are issued every year, with many articles in the AI field and many in the blockchain field. I remember that a report on Web3.0 was also issued last year. Can you, from the perspective of a higher-level researcher, look at the opportunities of Web3.0, and the integration of AI, blockchain, and other technologies, and what new opportunities it may bring?
Xu Wei: Web3 is the future of industrial blockchain, the important development direction of "Xinghuo·Lianwang," and the forward-looking leader of future industries. Under the strategic guidance of building a manufacturing power, a network power, and a digital China in our country, and driven by the needs of industrial digitization and digital industrialization, "Xinghuo·Lianwang" will grasp the trend of Web3, lead industrial blockchain to deepen and practical development, jointly build the Web3 ecosystem, better serve the new industrialization process, and enable blockchain technology to play a greater role in building a network power, developing the digital economy, and promoting economic and social development in various aspects.
Du Yu: One more thing to add. Yesterday, when discussing with everyone, I increasingly feel that blockchain and Web3 are not for human use, but for AI use. During the hackathon over the weekend, when we kicked off on Friday night, I told the hackathon team that when we were thinking about new ideas, we jumped out of the mindset of how blockchain is actually used, originally thinking about how to serve existing humans, how to serve enterprises and the real economy. Is it a new direction to say how Web3 can better serve AI and regulate AI? This is also a very interesting topic.
Finally, I would like to jump to another topic, the international perspective. Domestic alliance chains and industrial blockchains face many challenges, and it's not just us; the global industrial blockchain also faces these challenges.
Looking at history, R3 and IBM Hyperledger have faced many challenges. Interestingly, what we are doing in the blockchain industry in China is leading globally. We have more experience, more practice, and have encountered many pitfalls. Although the three of us represent different organizations today, each of us has internationalization plans. Some have already done a lot, some plan to do a lot, and there have been reports in the public media.
I would like to ask each of you about your internationalization plans. The request is not to talk about things that are already publicly known, but to share some new, valuable information that others may not know.
Xu Wei: "Xinghuo·Lianwang" attaches great importance to international development and is building "Xinghuo·Lianwang" International (ASTRON). Leveraging G20, BRICS, SCO, China-ASEAN, and Belt and Road international cooperation, "Xinghuo·Lianwang" utilizes the established international super nodes (Malaysia, Macau, China), super nodes (Xiamen, Liuzhou), etc., to fully leverage the business characteristics of the node regions, empower cross-border digital trade and cross-border data circulation, and provide international services to ASEAN, SCO, BRICS, and other countries.
"Xinghuo·Lianwang" International (ASTRON) and "Xinghuo·Lianwang" together become an important part of the "community of shared future for mankind" proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping. The digital community of shared future inherits and expands the core concepts and practices of the community of shared future for mankind. We aim to promote the development and utilization of global data and cooperation in data sovereignty governance, strengthen national coordination in digital laws and regulations, and promote the formation of a transnational data governance framework and agreement through "consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits." This provides a new path for the construction of a community of shared future for mankind, which is conducive to alleviating the tensions in human society and maintaining world peace and development.
Thank you all!
Du Yu: At last weekend's Bund Summit, Ant Financial launched the new overseas brand "ZAN." Under this new brand, Ant Financial will provide a series of blockchain services for overseas markets, including KYC, KYT, contract auditing, and node services. My question is, what is Ant Financial's overseas strategy? Please share some valuable information, such as why Ant Financial launched the ZAN brand and what your strategy aims to achieve.
Yuan Liwei: At the Bund Summit a few days ago, we introduced the ZAN brand, with a website that is easy to remember, ZAN.TOP. The products currently visible on the official website include KYC, KYT, contract security auditing, and node services, all of which we are directly involved in. KYC is already being used in cooperation with the Hong Kong government, and some institutions are currently trying out KYT. Security auditing is something we have been doing for a long time. Since the end of last year, we have been incubating security auditing. Our auditing is based on our years of experience in contract security for domestic alliance chains. We have three main capabilities:
- Static scanning, which can detect over 100 common vulnerabilities.
- Dynamic fuzzing discovery capability, which can explore boundary conditions and find vulnerabilities.
- Formal verification capability.
Combining our tools with the expertise of our team, we follow industry standards. However, our clients have given us feedback that our auditing speed is basically twice as fast as what they have seen from other companies, indicating that our tools are quite strong. The level of detail in our audit reports is more comprehensive than what other auditing companies have provided in the past, which is our unique feature. In the future, we will expand into more areas, thanks to recent policy relaxations in China, including in Hong Kong and overseas.
If you have been following our personnel changes, the CEO of the newly launched ZAN brand was previously the CTO of a tech company. He will be working overseas for the long term, and we hope that this leader will help us expand into the international market. It's like walking on two legs, combining the accumulated experience and advantages in the domestic industry, such as in IoT devices and how to put physical assets on the chain, including our extensive experience in the RWA aspect that we have mentioned. After the concept of RWA emerged, our experience and capabilities in this area can also help the international blockchain industry land more effectively. This is a larger opportunity that can be seen after the integration of both sides.
Du Yu: I know that Mr. Li has been traveling to many places in recent months, and we have also met at some overseas conferences. Academician Chen Chun of Zhejiang University is the honorary president of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association. Mr. Li, please share some information that cannot be publicly disclosed with everyone.
Li Wei: It is very clear that blockchain companies must naturally internationalize. As we all know, the core of blockchain is to solve the issue of trust, and the core must exist in an environment of distrust. It's simple; there is always an environment of distrust in China at any time, but international distrust is inherent because the cost of trust between countries, especially in international affairs, is relatively high. As a result, internationalization is an inevitable trend for any application of blockchain, without a doubt.
To be honest, things have been a bit stagnant over the past three years due to the pandemic. In 2018, Google was our client, and we had many international layouts from the beginning. However, due to the pandemic, things have slowed down a bit, but we are restarting this year.
There is indeed a very important trend now, and everyone can feel it. Two years ago, it started with the "Internet Economy," initially "Copy to China," where China quickly replicated the models from Silicon Valley. But recently, it has become "Copy from China," with our internet expanding to overseas markets. The voice of Chinese entrepreneurs and the Chinese model can be found everywhere, especially in Southeast Asia and other countries. The implementation is very clear.
China's digital economy and internet development are already very advanced globally. How can we export these models overseas? There have been many recent layouts, such as the upcoming business in Japan, and we recently made a trip to Dubai, and even to Africa. We found that Africa is very promising starting from Dubai because its infrastructure is relatively lacking.
This is actually a major trend. It doesn't require a major restructuring, and we don't have to go through the stages of Web1 and Web2 to reach Web3 directly. This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially in places where financial infrastructure is relatively lacking. Sometimes, Web3 and blockchain are not difficult to promote, but the process of promotion will disrupt the interests of existing stakeholders and their existing cake. However, if there are no existing stakeholders, no existing cake, and we can create a new cake, the difficulty level is actually lower than dealing with existing things.
The construction costs of 5G in various places have been decreasing, as has the cost of IoT. New opportunities are emerging from Japan and South Korea to JD.com, Africa, and Southeast Asia. This is not about the United States and Europe not doing anything; it's just relatively more difficult in the international situation.
Although this year is the first year of internationalization, we will hear more international voices in the future, with a focus on Asia, Africa, and existing regions. The internationalization of blockchain is inevitable and is a very important trend for future development.
Many countries involved in the "Belt and Road" initiative also need to establish a trust mechanism, and a trust mechanism is inevitably decentralized. This is where blockchain will play a very important role as a core infrastructure.
That's about it for my sharing.
Du Yu: Thank you, Mr. Li, for speaking so candidly about what you have in mind. When we met in Japan last time, you didn't tell me so much. After listening to the 40-minute forum today, I have two feelings to share with everyone:
First, blockchain is very challenging, but after experiencing many years, the path is becoming clearer. We also know that there are better use cases in more places and more scenarios, so there is a huge opportunity for the integration of domestic blockchain applications with new technologies such as AI.
Second, internationalization. Chinese people are really making waves. Mr. Ren from Cyberport mentioned yesterday that since getting involved in blockchain Web3, they have also started to "007." On one hand, they are exporting the spirit of being "wavy," and on the other hand, they are exporting the experience, technology, business, and system integration capabilities accumulated over many years to the world. My big realization yesterday was that we must make good use of the technological, talent, and industrial advantages on the mainland, combined with the financial policies and other advantages in Hong Kong. By combining the mainland and Hong Kong, we can jointly represent China on the world stage and compete. This is our greatest mission and value.
Once again, thank you to the three of you, and thank you to today's audience. It's already 12:45, thank you!
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