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Internationalization and cooperation are critical for the development of the global economy, and moves to decouple technological research and development among countries and regions is unwise and unrealistic, international entrepreneurs and experts noted at the 2019 New Economy Forum in Beijing on Friday.

It is important to build trust and cooperation [during internationalization]. The decoupling of technology or the split in supply chains is unwise and difficult to realize, Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Chinese tech firm Lenovo, said at the forum.

The purpose of science and technology is to serve mankind, which is not only moral, but also in line with economic rules, Yang said.

Lenovo has 15 R&D bases in the world, and "just as economic globalization has twists and turns, technological globalization will encounter setbacks as well," said a statement Lenovo sent to the Global Times.

Trade protectionism has been accelerating in recent years, and a similar trend has also been developing in the tech field. 

Speaking of new economy driving forces and technological decoupling, Tom Orlik, chief economist at Bloomberg, said that innovation will be a new driver for China's economy, and innovation is a global process. Countries learn from each other, and cooperate with each other in R&D.

If the industrial sectors are separated, innovation is going to be harder, Orlik noted, and if it would be much harder for companies from China and the US to trade with each other or much harder to do joint R&D projects, it may be a significant blow to economic growth in China and the US, and also for the global economy.

"But I don't think [the decoupling situation] is where we are right now," Orlik told the Global Times.

Global Times