-Pascal Coppens - Author - Keynote Speaker - China expert | Pascal Coppens Keynote speaker, author, China Expert

Goodreads Reviews

Can we trust China?

By 2028, China will be the world's largest economy. How is it that the country is outpacing the West in many areas? Does China owe this to the rich West? Or is it a result of an energetic collective society? Do the Chinese play by the rules? And what do Chinese themselves think of the Party and the system?

In the search for answers to these questions, tempers quickly flare and positions are often taken very firmly in the positive or negative camp. If we want to seize the opportunities that China's transition also offers us and our economy, then a nuanced view is really a necessity. Can we trust China? Brings a multi-faceted answer to the many questions about China that cause us to distrust it. The book dives into the Chinese context to transcend assumptions and stereotypes and to find out how the Chinese function, how they stand in society and how they conduct their business. In this way, it wants to help the reader better understand the China of tomorrow, and our own future.

China's New Normal

While the world focuses on what is happening in Silicon Valley, the Chinese innovation train has left the station and is moving forward at high speed. Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are the well-known standard-bearers of this fast and furious innovation surge, but they are just the tip of the iceberg.

Pascal Coppens guides the reader through eight key industries. He shows how China is creating a ‘New Normal’ in each of these industries, with vivid stories and examples that often sound like science fiction. The common theme is how China is leveraging its unique strengths to assume a leading position as innovator with the development and implementation of artificial intelligence and other key technologies of the future.

China’s New Normal offers fascinating insights into the new China and its potential impact on the rest of the world. It is essential reading for anyone who is involved with the process of disruption because in the years ahead China will increasingly be the source of innovations and disruptive trends that will touch all of our lives.

Can we trust China?

1. Human and Individual
The Chinese core values of trust start with the individual's search for an identity, values and self-confidence. Is there a cultural or historical reason why Chinese seem to lie more often? Do the Chinese really enjoy life?

2. Family and Friends
Confucian traditions often still define the social fabric in which the Chinese live today. The strongest circle of trust is in the family and the personal network - Guanxi. How do you get inside the circle? Is this Guanxi culture driving new models for the world? Can Chinese people really trust westerners?

3. Company and Team
Chinese companies organize themselves differently to maximize internal and external trust. What about data privacy, transparency and accountability? Is China's collective strength making its businesses more resilient? What motivates Chinese workers? Can the Chinese ever truly be free within their cocoons?

4. Network and Tribes
The Chinese don't exist. China is diverse in ethnicity, language, generations and customs. How does China deal with diversity and equal rights? Is China still poor or very rich? Is China the dystopian control state where every individual is profiled and watched? Will China ever become like countries in the West?

5. System and The CPC
The Chinese rule of law is often discussed in the West. Do Chinese trust their system? What is the Communist Party's involvement? What about social institutions such as marriage, religion, education and communities? Is China becoming a dystopian totalitarian state?

6. Nation and People
China is a highly paternalistic success-driven top-down society. Chinese leaders live in a high context-relational world and seek harmony through structure and control. Chinese are most pragmatic, materialistic and power-hungry; but do China’s leaders due to their flexibility now evolve towards a more empathetic, emotional and empowered mindset? Are the Chinese being fooled by their government?

7. World and Planet
China is claiming a more important role in the world. China's authoritarian governance model seems very successful in its societal transformation and at times of crisis. Can we learn something from this for our new normal, and how can we work together? Should we be afraid of China's power or can we make good use of it? Does China want to build a new world order?

8. Universe and Culture
China wants to create a new society together with the world with a shared future for all humanity. By 2121, China aims to build the most reliable society in the world in harmony with the universe. How do we reconcile China's holistic view of the universe with its ambitions to conquer that same universe? Do Chinese believe their culture is superior?

CHINA INSIGHTS:

Pascal will take you along eight industries. For each of them, he reveals how China creates a new normal that often sounds like science fiction to us. Whether covering retail, mobility, production, health or entertainment, China is rapidly innovating and taking a clear lead on the rest of the world. The common theme running through each of the stories is China's lead in the development and implementation of artificial intelligence.

SMART SECURITY
The first industry to start ahead of the West is that of Smart Security. A loaded chapter, but a theme that today questions our own values and safety with social credit score and privacy discussions. Should we worry or not?

SMART RETAIL
2017 was the year in which the term New Retail was coined by Alibaba, a trend in the sector that is globally influential, but which today can almost only be followed by Amazon. Who is that Chinese consumer and how do you reach him differently than in the West? Will China become the epicenter of e-commerce?

SMART MOBILITY
In 2021 the self-driving cars will be seen on the roads in China, and Smart Mobility in China will suddenly give the world a blueprint. Will we be driving in the West in 10 years with Chinese cars or will our brands have Chinese intelligence?

SMART HEALTHCARE
By 2025, I expect that China will have transformed its health care in such a way that it will no longer be recognizable and that Smart Health will be available to most Chinese people. Could China's transformation in health care perhaps solve the problems of employment and service provision in our Western health care sector?

SMART MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
The second industry is that of Smart Media and Entertainment. Companies such as Tencent and others have been taken as an example of innovation since 2015. How does the power play between the Chinese digital generation, the controlling government and the most powerful technology companies relate?

SMART FINANCE
2019 predicts to be the year of Smart Finance, with Western banks and insurers trying to understand the new cashless society. Now that Chinese people have much more money and live in a digital payment world, could China be the example of the transformation in the financial industry?

SMART PRODUCTION
In 2023 most factories in China will have their robots talking and Smart Manufacturing will have its full impact in 2025. Is China really evolving from "made in China" to "created in China"? Will China become the world's smart factory or will the West become China's smart factory?

SMART EDUCATION
By 2030 at the latest, I expect that China will have fully imbued its outdated education with technology. How could China, with one of the most traditional educational systems in the world, learn something about Western education?