Turning computing power into productivity in line with industry expansion

Reporter (R): Hainan is focused on strengthening its advantages in seed breeding, the marine economy, aerospace, the digital economy, and green energy, and actively cultivating new-quality productive forces. What advantages and potential do you think Hainan has in developing the digital economy?

Xiaodong LEE (L): Data, as a key elements, is inextricably linked with various traditional elements. For this reason, I believe that Hainan will have strong advantages in the future. First are systemic advantages. As a free trade port, Hainan has policy pulling power, enabling it to gather resources and elements. Second are Hainan's locational advantages. Hainan is connected to Southeast Asia and is well placed to connect with other regional economies globally. In terms of potential, Hainan has a latecomer advantage. In certain infrastructure fields, such as networking infrastructure and the data infrastructure currently being proposed by the state, Hainan doesn't have any legacy issues to deal with, so it can utilize brand-new architectures to build this infrastructure. Another point is that in the future, Hainan will also have talent advantages, with favorable policies conferred by the central government set to transform the island into a magnet for talent.

R: Hainan is also vigorously expanding its computing power sector. Following special customs operations, how can Hainan build on its efforts in this sector?

L: Computing power is a big topic these days. AI has expanded rapidly, and computing power, algorithms, and data are the three core elements of AI development. In turn, networking is crucial to computing power. No matter how you look at it, computing power is very important. Like other provinces, Hainan is working to deploy computing power, but it's not just a race to the bottom. Computing power isn't a universal, and as segmentation progresses, different types of computing power must be provided for specific fields. Not all computing power has to be as enormous and fast as possible. Within a segmented framework, some systems may only perform storage and partial calculation tasks, while others may do high-performance computing. Hainan has to find its niche and use it to its advantage in economic development. For example, aerospace and deep-sea exploration require high-performance computing. At present, computing consumes a massive amount of energy. Of course, lots of money is being poured into it, but many people assume it's just about turning energy into raw computing power and are wowed by the sight of fully stacked server rooms. Actually, we need to harness this computing power and turn it into economic productivity. This requires coordinated strategy and efforts.

R: Data elements are also key governance resources. How can Hainan utilize "data" to promote the construction of a "Smart Hainan"?

L: This "data" refers to both "digitization" and "gathering digital and data elements." Can we achieve both in Hainan? Traditional "intelligence," which mainly hopes to render urban management, or urban resident services, more intelligent, is mainly "inward-looking." However, we hope that in the future, we can "look outward" and gather elements through digital means, such as talent, capital, and technology elements. Therefore, Hainan must build its own data resource center to manage these resources. Beyond this, such a facility would also provide global data services in the Hainan Free Trade Port and then use these data resources to empower the development of Hainan itself. This is what is required in the future.

Exploring an "e-Resident" scheme to spur youth entrepreneurship in Hainan

R: You mentioned that young people are the backbone of the digital economy. Indeed, young people are flooding into this field.

L: In the process of economic development and transformation, talents have been redistributed and begun to return, including some digital nomads. Could Hainan get in on the action and bring some talent its way? Take me, for example. It's entirely possible that someone like me would choose Hainan as the next step on my career ladder. I used to be a member of the Standing Committee of the All-China Youth Federation. We had a meeting in Hainan to discuss young people's contributions to Hainan's development. I actually proposed the development of an "e-Resident" scheme in Hainan back then, but the idea itself is not new. How could Hainan go about this? Cities in the digital age should be borderless. Young people are innovative and willing to try new lifestyles and new ways of working. Could Hainan give them some special policies, build ties with them, and transform them into "e-Residents"? Hainan's development model must be innovative so that young people are drawn to start businesses in Hainan. In fact, there are already some successful experiences that we can learn from.

R: With special customs operations imminent, what do you want to say to young people who want to develop in Hainan?

L: I think they should think of Hainan as a "nebula," that is, a place that gives birth to stars. In this case, the stars of the digital economy. This "nebula" would give them plenty of room to imagine and create. In fact, this concept is actually a great development opportunity for Hainan: For young people, it's very important to choose a suitable place to develop with the right policy environment. If Hainan is an epitome of China's rapid development in the future, could young people seize this opportunity and truly devote themselves to developing within this "nebula"? Hainan FTP special customs operations will usher in a new stage of development, which is bound to deliver many new development opportunities to young people. I hope they can seize these opportunities and work hard, and in 20 years, their lives will be completely different. They will have laid claim to their own star in the "nebula" and built a ship to chart their own course.