On May 14th, at the parallel theme meeting of “One Belt, One Road” International Cooperation Summit “Strengthening Policy Communication and Strategic Docking”, Ma Yun, Chairman of Alibaba Group Board of Directors, said that the ancient Silk Road was the first time in history driven by China. Globalization, and the “Belt and Road Initiative” is a new round of globalization promoted by China today.
Ma Yun first talked about its views on globalization. He said that today's problems are not caused by globalization, but by the imperfection of globalization. Globalization needs to advance, not stop; it needs to be accelerated, not slowed down; it needs action, not the argument.
In the past 30 years, world trade has been controlled by about 60,000 large companies, and globalization has benefited developed countries and large companies. Next, globalization should benefit the remaining 80% of developing countries and SMEs, making world trade freer, fairer, and more just.
Ma Yun said that strictly speaking, the past can only be called "internationalization", and now it is "globalization." These are two different concepts. Internationalization speaks of competence, and globalization speaks of patterns and realms. Today's globalization is the ability to serve the world. Globalized companies are definitely not just opening a factory abroad. The core of globalization is to create unique values in other regions and other countries, create jobs and do things that cannot be done locally.
Two weeks ago, Ma Yun put forward a point of view in Geneva, Switzerland. He suggested that B20 should become B200. B20 has no way to solve today's problems. Only B200 is possible. Developing countries, small and medium-sized enterprises, and young people are places where globalization should really be concerned.
Talking about the “Belt and Road Initiative” initiative, Ma Yun said that the “Belt and Road Initiative” is China’s responsible thinking on globalization. He believes that the Silk Road is the first globalization promoted by China in history. The “Belt and Road” is a new round of globalization promoted by China today. The “Belt and Road” is a new interpretation of globalization in China today and a role for China as the world's second-largest economy in the development of the future world.
"You are the world's largest economy, not to look at your GDP rankings, but to see how much responsibility you have in this world." Ma Yun said, "The Belt and Road have gone far beyond a country's regional economic strategy, its mission. How to make the world more innovative, more dynamic, more equal, and more inclusive."
Ma Yun said that in the past year he went to nearly 40 countries and found a very interesting phenomenon: developed countries are afraid of globalization; developing countries are embracing globalization. Developed countries are worried that the Internet will take jobs, and developing countries are using the Internet to create jobs. “I believe that e-commerce is born for developing countries, for young people, for SMEs, for the rest of the 80% who have not benefited from globalization. I believe that the future is not an Internet company. It is a company that uses the Internet; the future is not a country that invents the Internet, but a country that uses the Internet."
Finally, Ma Yun put forward two policy recommendations: First, attach importance to the role of enterprises in the “Belt and Road” and globalization. Second, the customs, taxation, and logistics systems of developing countries should consider how to move from the 20th century system to the 21st-century system. “We can do some experiments, such as tax exemption for SMEs under $1 million, issuing SME visas, etc.”