International Chamber of Commerce: Resetting the Global Economy

Underpinned by continued government interest in digitalizing global trade, Huawei has been working with the International Chamber of Commerce and national governments over the past several years to promote digital transformation and thus build a stronger, more resilient global trade ecosystem – the need for which has demonstrably grown since the disruption caused by the pandemic.

In collaboration with other key stakeholders, technology companies are well-positioned to make a practical contribution to energizing economic recovery, supporting SME growth, achieving net-zero targets, and ramping up business competitiveness.

ICC has launched three reports sponsored by Huawei on business cases covering the UK, Germany, and the G7 for upgrading to a “Modern Digital Trade Ecosystem”. Digitalizing trade documents can reduce the cost and complexity of trading especially for SMEs. SMEs can save between 35% and 80% in cost and time. It can also potentially save a billion trees from becoming paper trade documents, which is the equivalent of up to 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Read more: How Horizon Europe Will Benefit SMEs

Huawei plans to work with ICC to advance development of this digital trade ecosystem in 2022. 

On October 18, 2021, Huawei’s Catherine Chen gave a keynote address at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UK conference Resetting the Global Economy. Involving the more than 30 ICC offices and a global audience of over 9,000, the event looked at practical global case studies, initiatives, and international best practices that can help shape a set of policy takeaways that ICC will promote and feed into its policy forums at the UN, WTO and G20.

Below is Catherine Chen’s address at the conference.

Catherine Chen, Corporate Senior Vice President and Director of the Board, Huawei

To support economic recovery, there is an urgent need to upgrade to a modern digital ecosystem. For SMEs in particular, this can be the difference between expanding into global markets or being a purely domestic business.

Right now, we have a special opportunity to advance digital transformation on a practical level for businesses and enable more people and businesses to seize global economic opportunities at lower costs.

Most importantly we can build a framework to support more efficient, connected global supply chains. These would deliver technology for all, drive economic growth, and carry prosperity to more communities worldwide.

Digitalization must be at the heart of “Resetting the Global Economy”.

First, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the ICC and UK government, who hold this year’s G7 Presidency, for delivering on their commitment to remove legal barriers to accepting digital trade documents. To help make the case for legal reform on digital documents, we are funding and supporting Business Case Reports. I believe that we will look back at 2021 as the breakthrough year for digital trade.

Second, I would like to talk about digital skills and inclusiveness especially for SMEs and young people in developing economies. They will benefit most from the new digital ecosystem we are building. But to fulfil their potential, they need our help and support to gain access to technology and to obtain the right skills and training.

Expanding digital skills: DigiSchool in South Africa & DigiTruck in Kenya

SMEs are the innovators, disruptors, and pioneers of our times. These companies provide two-thirds of jobs worldwide, create two-thirds of new jobs, and contribute almost 50% to global GDP.

Huawei supports start-ups in many countries, and recently announced our Spark Program, which will provide US$100 million to help young, fast-growing companies in Asia Pacific. Huawei also helps develop the next generation of digital talent through our ICT Academies and Seeds for the Future programs.

Digital skills and inclusiveness are a joint venture between generations that must be invested in and nurtured

Finally, it is important that we work in close collaboration with all stakeholders on policies and regulations that the global digital ecosystem needs to succeed.

Further Reading

Innovations in Digital Trade: Unlock the Future (White Paper)

DigiTruck [A Huawei TECH4ALL partnership with NGO Close the Gap to expand digital literacy in remote communities]

Tech4Good: Seeds for the Future Students Design AI Solution for Sign Language Interpretation [Summary of the Seeds training program that took place in September 2021]

Disclaimer: Any views and/or opinions expressed in this post by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and/or opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of Huawei Technologies.