U.S. tech giants praised China's tech innovation at the World Internet Conference (WIC) on Tuesday. This innovation has become a major driving force for the country's information technology revolution, business representatives said during the event. [Special coverage]
The Chinese government is using data to create new opportunities, Facebook's vice president Vaughan Smith noted at the event on Tuesday morning. He made this comment in response to a question addressing how to evaluate tech innovation in China.
When the Global Times approached Smith on Monday, he refused to comment on the company's possible entry into the world's second-largest economy.
Other U.S. tech leaders also applauded China's innovation during the event.
Evernote CEO Chris O'Neill said he was amazed two years ago by the Chinese tech rise, and now, some new ideas are "actually mind-blowing" to him.
Ebay, a major competitor of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings, shares a vision of helping people conduct trade around the world and empowering entrepreneurs not only in the U.S., but in other countries, too. "I think China has been innovating for quite some time," Ebay's chief product officer RJ Pittman said during the event.
He also noted that he was once impressed by a consumer drone product unveiled by a Chinese tech company.
Chinese tech companies demonstrate incredible speed when building gigantesque operations, noted Allen Blue, co-founder of LinkedIn. He also suggested that to combine social networking with business and daily interaction, WeChat, a messaging app under Chinese tech giant Tencent, could set an example for U.S. companies. The Chinese app today is a platform not only to connect friends and relatives, but also to connect business partners and co-workers.
