China US Internet War?!
Reports of an “Internet War” between China and the US. China is apparently developing a new internet (CNGI) to increase “innovation” and global competitiveness in China. My first thoughts (ok, my second thoughts after—“considering recent trends this certainly means more government control”) are: Why is this a “war?” Why do we always have to fight? Why can’t we all just love?
Really, why is the development of the Chinese economy always seen as a threat in the US? Don’t we want more/larger/more developed markets across the globe? Isn’t competition the key to Smithsonian free market principles that we claim to advocate? Why isn’t a “better” internet platform in China a good thing? (Granted, the probability of increased efficiencies in Chinese government control more than likely will accompany any “development” in national level technology developments.)
The reality is that a better system does not necessarily mean more innovation or competition in either the short of long terms. First, the delivery systems for the current Chinese internet are crippling. The Chinese system that was already built to be “better than international standards” in the just last 10 years is painfully slow, limited by a lack of competition in distribution, poor quality final delivery infrastructure and government interference/censorship. Second, having a great system doesn’t mean that anyone will know how to use it effectively—certainly not the 90% of college grads that can’t compete with the current system. Third, who knows what “better” is and if it will really even work or not. How many people/companies/regions will even have access?
One can only hope that China will indeed soon become competitive in the areas of R&D and other innovations. This should be seen as great news in the US—not as a war of any sorts. Status Quo in China is piracy, mass production of Western-design products and sub-par domestic products. Furthermore, the ability of China’s current college grads to be competitive in the global economy has been reported (repeatedly) to be some where around 10% of total college grads—meaning 9 in 10 can’t meet international standards and could certainly use a does of “innovation.”
Anything that develops the Chinese market, increase the knowledge and ability of both Chinese consumers and employees/graduates should be totally supported by the US! If market and consumer development is war, put me on the front lines!