Opinion | Why China must be more tolerant of risks in fostering innovation
- Israel’s embrace of ‘balagan’ or chaos has boosted the nation’s tech prowess, but China considers its equivalent ‘luan’ a risk that must be avoided at all costs
- China’s aversion to risk in fields like generative AI and proposed regulations on reviewing apps are likely to dampen the nation’s innovative spirit
China’s traditional growth model of relying on labour and capital is fast running out of steam. The time has come for the world’s second-largest economy to rely heavily on innovation to extricate itself from a tight spot and reenergise its economy.
But whether China can turn itself into a truly innovative country is up for debate. Few can doubt China’s seriousness in fostering innovation; just look at Beijing’s generous outlay for technological research. But it seems there’s still something missing to turn China into a land of innovators and entrepreneurs. If anything, there are signs the spark of innovation has dimmed a little over the past few years.
Israel is often praised as a land of innovation. Inbal Arieli, the author of Chutzpah: Why Israel Is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, articulated the cultural factors behind the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the nation of 9.4 million people. In a speech to Hong Kong University’s business school last week, Arieli attributed Israel’s success not to its military prowess but to children’s playgrounds, where there are no restrictions and kids are free to express themselves.
The absence of specific instructions on how to have fun, for example, on a slide tacitly encourages kids to face uncertainties and to unleash their creativity, according to Arieli. The embrace of “balagan”, the Hebrew word for chaos and mess, is a key ingredient for innovation, she added.
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While the Israeli lawyer-turned-speaker was not explicitly talking about China, it provides some food for thought in China’s context. The Chinese state, apparently, considers chaos, or luan in Chinese, as something bad that has to be avoided at all cost. It focuses all its efforts to exert control over the process, and consequently, on innovation.
For instance, in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AI), China certainly does not lack investors and talent who are willing to bet big on the technology following the popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.