Publication: How should the UK view China’s technological rise? | UKNCC

London, 10th November 2021 – Serica is pleased to announce a publication authored by our CEO Benjamin Speyer for the UK National Committee on China’s Guest Contributor Programme.

The UK National Committee on China is Britain’s leading organisation in strengthening decision making on China-related issues through world-class education and exchanges. The UKNCC Guest Contributor Programme publishes contrasting responses by leading authors to key questions. The programme is designed to stimulate a deeper exploration of China related issues, drive curiosity and test conventional wisdom.

The question “How should the UK view China’s technological rise?” was posed to Benjamin Speyer and former NYT journalist Didi Tatlow which resulted in two different perspectives with Benjamin “As an opportunity: The case for British engagement in China” and Ms Tatlow “As a threat: The case for British decoupling from China”.

Some of his takeouts include:

• China is an innovation powerhouse rivalled only the United States in size, ingenuity and global impact. The great challenges of our time (climate change, food security, poverty alleviation, healthcare, etc.) cannot be solved without China.
• As a driver of world-leading STEM-focused innovations, the UK can and must play a major part in solving these global issues.
• UK innovators have the opportunity to develop and commercialise their technology in China at a pace and scale that no other market can provide. But the path to success contains a range of challenges and risks which must be considered.
• The technology sector should not be grouped under a single monolith, and areas like bleeding-edge AI and advanced robotics should not be discussed in tandem with softer sectors like healthcare and gaming.
• An open-door policy would leave us unacceptably vulnerable, but a complete decoupling would limit or dismantle our ability to drive forward solutions on the global stage, causing severe economic and political fallout.
• Sino-UK relations are not binary. As a nation, we need to move away from simplistic binary discussions, towards balanced, informed and impactful debates. Only then can we understand how we can constructively engage with China.

As one of the world’s leading technology and financial advisory firms specializing in China, we are always striving to remain at the forefront of meaningful discourse and education about Chinese technology, innovation, and business practices. Benjamin’s contribution to the UKNCC Guest Contributor Programme underscores Serica’s commitment to thought leadership and knowledge sharing in key areas of strategic importance to its clients and partners.

Read the full publication here: https://ukncc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GCP-Issue-7.pdf

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