Nicole Alejandra Solano, a 21-year-old Mexican student, could hardly foresee a few years ago how important social technologies would become, especially in the face of a global pandemic.
The nanotechnology engineering student believes the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic change of people's daily habits, which in turn will lead to an evolution of the whole society towards high-tech and a greener life style.
"This is pushing us to continue developing projects and ideas, which are going to be part of our routine, and people are going to be more interested in researching this technology, especially that which has high social relevance," Solano told Xinhua.
Solano is a participant in "Seeds for the Future," a program Chinese telecommunications company Huawei launched in Mexico in 2016, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Transportation, to develop young technological talents.
"Smart cities," which China is building in many parts of the country, through some 500 projects, are just one example of technology being applied to benefit society, she said.
China began to develop smart cities on a national scale in 2012, taking advantage of breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, to comprehensively facilitate and improve urban services.
China set a goal of building 100 new smart cities by the end of 2020 to further drive urban planning and development.
"Everything they have developed has been applied in their society, and I think that is something important, because it is not about discovering, but about adapting it to society," said Solano.
Huawei's "Seeds for the Future" program has fostered young talents in more than 126 countries since 2008, in collaboration with more than 500 universities around the world.
This year's program in Mexico took place virtually at the end of October, with 40 participants touring Huawei's laboratories to learn about the latest technological trends and developments, such as artificial intelligence, 5G networks and cloud computing.
COVID-19 has completely modified the outlook for global economic growth, but meanwhile opened new investment opportunities, said Amapola Grijalva, president of the Mexico-China Chamber of Commerce and Technology.
There is a "large amount of liquidity" looking for new opportunities around the world amid the pandemic, which can generate profits in the post-pandemic era via smart projects, she said.
Grijalva believed the relationship between Mexico and China should be strengthened through technological projects with broad social application.
Asia is proving to be the region with the strongest economic recovery, with China leading the way, so it is bound to become the "natural" destination for investment and technological exchange, Grijalva said.
The chamber is currently running a virtual course from Nov. 6 to Dec. 4, with the theme of "Preparing your company to attract investment from China."
"Based on innovation, science and technology, we are looking for companies to partner with, for investors, for a market in Asia, through a cooperative alliance with China," she added.
