Opportunities presented by the new technological revolution and how to seize them was the focus of a parallel session on trade and innovation held during the Hongqiao International Economy and Trade Forum (HIETF).
The HIETF, which was organized by China’s Ministry of Commerce with the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), brought together over 2,000 panelists from almost 130 countries that represented academia, international organizations and the private sector.
The HIETF, which aims at revitalizing and facilitating global trade and investment, includes parallel sessions on “trade and openness”, “trade and innovation”, and “trade and investment”. The trade and innovation session focused on tapping new drivers of inclusive and sustainable economic development in the era of new industrial revolution, such as the digital economy, e-commerce, and service economy.
“Innovation has an impact on countries’ trade structures, and through imports and foreign direct investment, trade has a major impact on innovation. Both have the ability to foster technology and knowledge spillovers”, said UNIDO Director General LI Yong during the trade and innovation session. “Many issues will play out at the company level, and there is a need to look into policy issues too, and particularly on how we can increase the absorptive capacities of countries to benefit from technology diffusion through trade and thus realize innovation”.
“The world is facing unprecedented changes emanating from the emergence of the New Industrial Revolution. Internet-based digital technologies are reshaping global value chains”, said UNIDO Director General LI Yong when delivering his keynote speech in Trade and Opening subforum. “Global flows of public and private investment need to be redirected to advance the SDGs through innovative solutions in such areas as energy efficiency, renewable energy, green buildings, and sustainable transport”.
Original source: UNIDO
Published on 5 November 2018
