Fallout from Chinese technological revolution felt in SA

Imagine living through the breakthrough moments of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the other icons of today`s new economy.

The kind of technological revolution that they led in Silicon Valley is now sweeping through China, but with much more dramatic implications. The dynamic entrepreneurs who are using technology to radically transform business and cultural life in China are fighting not only outdated business models, but also government regulations, the competition and political uncertainties.

These are the fastest, most courageous, nimblest-thinking people in the world. Their handiwork can been seen in the factories, offices and other buildings of Beijing and other Chinese cities where technological transformations are taking place with lightning speed.

The Internet is becoming pervasive, and, despite public proclamations to the contrary, the ability of Chinese citizens to gain access to knowledge from beyond China`s boundaries is now relatively unfettered.

Today, the growing numbers of Internet cafes on the streets of Beijing are the most obvious signs of a new phase of China`s development. The number of Chinese who are online is currently estimated to exceed 60 million and, by 2005, China should surpass the US with the most users in the world. The common stereotype - that the Chinese traditionally lack scientific and technological ability - has been shattered forever.

Despite this, many people are surprised to realise that modern agriculture, shipping, astronomical observatories, decimal mathematics, paper money, umbrellas, wheelbarrows, multi-stage rockets, brandy and whiskey, the game of chess, and much more, all came from China.

China`s technological revolution is having a far greater impact on Chinese citizens than the Maoist-led Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. This revolution is the result of a period of relatively unbroken economic re-formation that began at the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1978, and was reaffirmed in 1984 and again in 1992. It was at these meetings that a new economic development strategy was clarified and adopted.

It was based upon the decentralisation of control over the state owned enterprise sector, expanded market transactions to replace command and control allocation, dismantling of the rural commune system, increased use of material incentives in workplaces, and ultimately, upon the "modernisation" of the Chinese economic infrastructure.

The Hong Kong model is a good example of the success of the modernisation model. When, in 1984, the UK agreed to hand over Hong Kong to socialist China, it implicitly accepted China`s "one country, two systems" pronouncement. As much as British political leaders may have believed in that concept, modern nation states, by their very nature, tend to gravitate to only one system. Many believed the system governing China`s 1.2 billion people would govern Hong Kong`s 6.5 million people.

But powerful modernisation forces were at work that resulted in "one country, one system" in which the prevailing system is closer to Hong Kong`s than to that of traditional China.

This was the result of the sheer force of freedom, enhanced by the "turbo effect" of the technological revolution in which ideas were spread by the Internet, television, cheaper telecoms and inexpensive travel.

China`s technological revolution has gone too far to be reversed, assuming any of the traditionalists in China wanted to. The cities are exploding with small and medium-sized private companies and joint ventures with large foreign investors.

New developments in the field of genetic engineering - the core of the modern biotech revolution - are a good example of China`s growing dominance and leadership.

Biotechnology has become the fastest growing technology in the past three decades and has drawn close attention from scientists, governments and many enterprises around the world.

China hopes to use its biotech expertise to solve a number of key issues facing mankind, including health, food, the environment and energy.

In the wake of developments such as this, a new constellation of beneficiaries has emerged which favours the modern free market system - and will go to great lengths to defend it.

One of the most powerful forces for change has been the overseas Chinese communities. They are pouring billions of dollars into China and have fostered a market economy with legal and other business practices that are the guarantee of their success.

In addition, an estimated 50 000 Chinese students are studying at American universities making them the largest group of foreign students in the US. Almost all the children of the powerful men of China have studied or are studying in the US, including the son of President Jiang Zemin.

The friendship between China and SA can be traced back to the sixteenth century when the first Chinese settlers came to the continent. Today, SA is the one of China`s larger trading partners, with the trade volume between the two countries accounting for over 20% of the total trade volume between China and Africa.

The governments of China and SA have signed agreements on cooperation at various levels and a joint science and technology commission has been set up. Most significantly, SA and China have signed an agreement to co-operate on information and communications technology (ICT). In terms of the agreement, the two parties will cooperate in communication policy and regulatory framework, technical standards and certification, radio frequency spectrum, and management tools such as computer assistance.

The two countries will also explore areas of human resources development, sharing of experiences in satellite and other communication networks, and exchange of information concerning communication technologies and policies. This agreement will be effected through relevant structures mandated by the parties, namely Huawei International Training Department under the Southern African Regional Department and the Institute for Satellite and Software Application.

The signing is seen as one of the important initiatives to keep SA on par with global economic imperatives and abreast of the latest Chinese revolution.