AmCham China is excited to announce the launch of our new Technology and Innovation (T&I) Initiative, an “insight and collaboration” platform designed to help our members and their organizations navigate and take advantage of the impact of disruptive technologies. Guided by many discussions with members, the T&I Initiative aims to bring together a diverse, cross-sector community of companies applying technologies to innovate in order to share best practices, showcase American technology and innovation at work in China, deepen relationships between technology providers and adopters, and facilitate extensive communication between the two countries.
Value to AmCham Members
Building upon AmCham’s mission, the overall objective of the T&I Initiative is to help our members succeed in China. While the specifics will evolve over 2018 as members participate, the Initiative has been designed to provide business insights, relationships, advocacy and access related to leveraging technology and innovation.
Our members often tell us that they believe technology and innovation represent core strategic advantages and driving forces stimulating their business growth in China. At the same time, the accelerating pace of technology-related changes has made it increasingly difficult for them to respond to, as well as take advantage of, disruptive developments like artificial intelligence, Internet-of-Things, cloud computing, automated manufacturing and logistics, and blockchain-enabled supply chains. As our members have emphasized, the need for ongoing insights and collaboration around technology and innovation is greater than ever before, especially for international companies doing business in China.
According to the AmCham China 2017 Business Climate Survey, technology and R&D intensive companies were the most optimistic about their 2018 China growth prospects, with more than three quarters (77%) expecting industry market growth of 5% or more. However, these companies also represent the sector most concerned about unfair treatment of foreign companies (see chart below).
The increasing tensions between the US and China on technology transfer, intellectual property, cybersecurity, data control, cross-border investments have caused wide concerns and uncertainty for American companies in China. Common challenges our member companies face include adjusting to rapidly-changing markets, competing with local counterparts, recruiting and retaining high-quality talent, evolving business models and supply chains, developing effective R&D functions, and partnering with smaller local businesses. AmCham will continue to identify these challenges as part of the T&I Initiative in order to develop the best possible policy advocacy strategy, collectively with our partner organizations, to help our members succeed in China.
Who Should Get Involved
Any company or institution can get involved in the T&I Initiative regardless of their membership status. Whether you work for a large multinational corporation, a mid-sized SME, or an entrepreneurial startup, the only prerequisite is an interest in exploring how disruptive technologies can impact and improve your business, industry and China. As shown below, we expect the T&I Initiative community will include technology providers, services firms, technology and innovation adopters from multiple industries, and other organizations and experts interested in the business impact of technology in China.
Initiative Scope and Focus
New to AmCham China, the T&I Initiative introduces a number of disruptive technology “tracks” impacting every company operating today regardless of geography. As shown below, these tracks may include artificial intelligence, distributed digital ledgers (blockchains), cloud computing, cybersecurity, content-enabled commerce, Internet-of-Things (IoT), and manufacturing and logistics automation. We will adjust the level of focus as needed as technologies evolve and become more or less important to our member companies over time.
Source: AcceleratingBiz.
Rather than focusing on the details of each technology itself, we plan to emphasize best practices for applying technologies innovatively within organizations, exploring how each impacts business areas, like maximizing value to customers and other stakeholders, transforming business models, optimizing operations and supply chains, and improving financial performance.
Importantly, the T&I Initiative’s Tracks will work closely with existing AmCham Forums and Committees. The intent is to make sure that thinking about technology and innovation trends, developments and opportunities becomes a core aspect of everything AmCham does going forward.
What to Expect in 2018
While still a work-in-progress, we are working to finalize an initial view of the many exciting events and other activities we have planned as part of the T&I Initiative in 2018.
In a nutshell, we are going to have:
- Events: regular and signature, public and executive/invite-only;
- Online Platform: multimedia campaign, event live streaming, online community building, etc.
- Potential Services: learning sessions, accelerated strategy workshops, annual subscription service, etc.
Check out some of our recent activities here (click the link below):
- The Future of Cars in China: Intelligent Connected Vehicles
- How U.S. Startups Bring Their Tech and Innovation to Market
- Digital Marketing Series: Crisis Management in We Media and Strategic and Corporate PR
These are just a few of the exciting events and other activities we have planned. As a member organization, we continue to look to our members for their insights and advice on how we can provide them with the most value possible.
How to Engage
As you can probably tell, we are incredibly excited to launch the AmCham Technology & Innovation Initiative, and can’t wait to get started. If you would like to help us get this Initiative up and running, here are some ways in which you can participate:
- Join the T&I Initiative Launch Event on April 19 by clicking here.
- Subscribe to the T&I Initiative mailing list to follow the latest updates
- Join the Digital Circle Program or one of the other T&I sponsorship opportunities (contact Michael Stewart at mstewart@amchamchina.org for more information)
- Share your knowledge and expertise at T&I events, meetups, workshops, multimedia content, and other activities (contact Rhine Yuan at ryuan@amchamchina.org to share suggestions and proposals)