Webinar: The importance of EU-China cooperation in building a more sustainable and secure future – 14 December 2021

The EU-China Business Association organized a webinar on the subject of ‘The importance of EU-China cooperation in building a more sustainable and secure future’ on December 14, 2021.

Ms. Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, EU-China Business Association, welcomed the participants to the webinar. The EU is prioritizing the green and digital transition political agenda through a variety of programs such as the EU Fit for 55 Initiative and the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. ICT innovation is going to drive many of these EU initiatives. China is now the world leader in sustainable investment, having provided over USD400 billion to support domestic green technology since 2017. Moreover, the EU and China have different policy platforms where the EU and China cooperate on policies covering smart cities and the health, transport, energy, ICT, and agricultural sectors. Ensuring that smart, sustainable and secure products reach the marketplace is a key priority for governments and the private sector. Our webinar will focus on the opportunities and challenges for EU-China cooperation for building a more sustainable and secure future for all our citizens.

Ms Gwenn Sonck moderated the panel discussion with:

Willem Jonker, CEO, E.I.T. Digital (European Institute for Innovation and Technology);

Zhiwei Song, Director, EU-China Association for Innovation and Entrepreneurship;

Tony Jin, Chief Representative to the EU institutions, Huawei;

Charlotte Roule, Overseas Representative in Paris of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China;

Jochum Haakma, Chairman, EU-China Business Association

What is E.I.T. Digital doing to promote sustainable best practices across the EU? Mr Jonker: E.I.T. Digital is part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and is addressing entrepreneurship and digital skills in Europe to help implement the digital strategy of the EU and the priorities on digital and green. The company is running a pan-European ecosystem with 18 locations in Europe and offices in Silicon Valley. On the platform of European partners of industry, universities, research centers and investors, we build delivery pillars on digital skills, entrepreneurship, innovation, and building and scaling European ventures. On sustainability we work together with E.I.T. Climate Kit and E.I.T. Inno Energy, which are in the core of green transition. We look at two dimensions: sustainable ICT in itself, such as the energy consumption of data centers, and to what extent digital technologies help to save energy or reduce the footprint in other sectors, such as digital books replacing physical books. On the other hand digital connectivity could also lead to more travel after the pandemic. We are preparing a report on how digital contributes to green. E.I.T. Digital is also active in cybersecurity. It is important that the digital world becomes a trusted environment. The sentiment is shifting from the beginning of the decade with all the promising possibilities to concerns about all the digital risks today.

How do you assess China building a more sustainable future and do you see many cooperative projects between China and the EU in the energy sector promoting higher levels of sustainability? Ms Roule: In Europe there are doubts as to what China is doing on green transition in energy. This is indeed happening at a huge pace to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. At Engie we focussed on renewable B-to-B. It is important that we develop similar policies. The agreement between the EU and China on an agreed definition of standards for green projects announced at the end of Cop26 is very important. The EU Chamber of Commerce in China has been advocating for a platform of cooperation. One example is the China-Europe Energy Innovation Cooperation Office.

What initiatives is Huawei pursuing in Europe to promote sustainability? Mr Jin: Huawei has a strong sustainability strategy. Digital technology can spur the global economy while improving the people's lives. We align our efforts with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We have four strategies; first, digital inclusion to leave no one behind in the digital world through the Tech for All initiative. We focus on equity in education and conservation of nature and making the technology more inclusive by investing in technology application and skills. Technology needs to help the people. Secondly, the low carbon and circular economy to minimize our ecological impact. We also help our European partners to help them reduce their energy consumption and emissions. The third strategy is building trust and the fourth is collaboration for the common goals.

How is the EU-China Association for Innovation and Entrepreneurship supporting sustainability and ICT innovation? Mr Song: Our organization was established in 2017. Our core value is innovation, and the internationalization of companies is the driver to do the job. We offer a platform for cooperation between China and Europe, which have different backgrounds and cultures. The speed and stages of development are also different. We promote communication to ensure that people understand each other. We promote exchanges of experiences and knowledge. We are promoting successful stories of collaboration. The Association is organizing every year competitions for innovation and entrepreneurship and also academic exchanges.

Is there enough goodwill between European and Chinese businesses to drive the development of a sustainable and stronger economy? Mr Haakma: The goodwill is there for stronger cooperation between Chinese and European businesses. In the sustainability field, a survey in 2020 by PricewaterhouseCoopers of 89 Chinese companies showed that almost 90% of surveyed Chinese businesses have an awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Achieving the goals is requiring strong involvement of the private sector. Global investment in research and development will ensure that more energy efficient and environmentally friendly products will reach the marketplace. International collaboration is key to build a more sustainable society. The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility is going to help to build a more sustainable society over the next five years we hope. The new EU research, science and innovative program Horizon Europe is going to promote stronger levels of cooperation between the European and Chinese private sectors in the areas of ICT, agriculture, health, environment, transport and urbanization. We are on the right track.

Ensuring that products are safe and secure is an important element of the sustainability debate. What is E.I.T. Digital doing in cybersecurity and sustainability? Mr Jonker: In the area of cybersecurity, the surface of attack has enormously expanded by hooking up more and more devices and systems to the network. If it is smart, it is vulnerable. The moment that you have embedded software in cyberphysical systems they become vulnerable. Your critical systems, such as oil pipelines and train networks, are vulnerable. The way to do cybersecurity engineering changes from a traditional strong focus on data encryption in two directions, system architecture and user-system interaction, and secondly securing data and detect potential malicious behavior. These more recent developments are embedded in our education programs to make sure that people who are developing digital systems take these things into account. Sustainability really lends itself to global collaboration. If you want a reduced imprint on the Earth you need to work together across the continents to make sure you don't get substitution effects. Some digital technologies, such as blockchain, raise concerns. When not implemented properly, blockchain comes with an enormous energy consumption, some of it in vain. Industry has to come with an answer to address the energy consumption in digital, by developing for example more efficient equipment and standards for a sustainable infrastructure. We should also look at the impact of digital on other sectors. In TVs, going form CRT to LCD screens, there was an enormous energy reduction even with improved quality, but now we see that those screens are all over the place leading to much more energy consumption adding up all LCDs compared with all CRTs. We should keep an eye on this kind of substitution effects. The argument that digital transformation leads to a lower energy footprint does not hold.

What are the key challenges and opportunities in sustainability? Ms Roule: In a survey of the EUCCC, 16% of companies conducted technology transfer for a business opportunity. Half of the members reported that the IT protection system was quite good, but of course this is only half. In China there are some data security requirements that are extremely high and it might not be feasible for European companies to upgrade their systems and they will leave the country. The tech localization push in China is also worrying. We can do more on green standards and e-mobility. It is difficult in a pandemic situation, but China should be more open in accessing the country. It is currently very difficult to send people to China.

How is Huawei promoting cybersecurity? Mr. Jin: We are one of the best experts in the world. We have the principle “Assume nothing, believe no one, check everything”. Cybersecurity is built within all our operations and company structures. In Europe we have more than 3,500 engineers dedicated to research. There has never been a serious cybersecurity incident in Huawei in the past 30 years. We have a high-level governance structure to manage our policies. The company has more than 3,000 people dedicated to cybersecurity. We also work together with industry as Europe has the leadership in cybersecurity standards. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.

What are the main challenges in developing stronger links between China and Europe in the area of sustainability? Mr Song: China and Europe have different backgrounds although we both have a long history. When Europe had the industrial revolution, China was closed. When Europe was in its rapid development stage, China had the cultural revolution. In the last 40 years, China has been rapidly developing its economy. Looking at Covid, we also see the power of China. We have to rationalize the differences, which is a challenge. Not all Europeans can understand Chinese and vice versa. How do we deal with the differences? I like the slogan from Rabobank: “Growing a better world together”. Diversity and inclusiveness go hand in hand. We have to recognize the differences but also learn to work together. The Chinese are doing 30% of planning and 70% of practice and the Europeans are doing 70% of planning and 30% of contingency, but we both achieve almost the same results. The one is not better than the other, it's a cultural difference. If we can recognize the differences we can better understand each other. At the end of the day, we have to open up to each other. In Europe we have been developed for many years, we have good maturity in terms of technology and regulations, while China is still very rapidly developing. If we can share what we have and learn from each other, we can do better. We have many common values and objectives. Ms Roule: It is very important to identify the differences. China is a fitness center for businesses according to the EUCCC President. You take the stage, take initiative and innovate and it is different from Europe.

Mr Haakma: How is Huawei cooperating with telecom operators in cybersecurity? Mr Jin: Huawei is paying a lot of attention to cybersecurity. Huawei has opened four transparency centers in Europe, including in the UK, to allow standardization organizations and our customers to verify our products. We are the only ones allowing the authorities to check our source code. The pressure we feel since three years has strengthened our capabilities in cybersecurity. It is an issue we need to solve properly.

Mr Jochum Haakma delivered the closing remarks. Both the EU and China are pushing the political agenda that will ensure we will live in a greener and more sustainable society. This will help the world in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and help to fight climate change. The EU-China Business Association wants to push this policy agenda because of its importance and also the opportunities that arise from it. New technologies and ICT innovation will bring more competition and environmentally friendly products. It is important that there is strong bilateral cooperation between China and the EU on sustainable issues, but it is equally important that governments across the world, together with the private sector, work together with international organizations such as the UN to promote the broader sustainability agenda.