ECONOMY AND THE CHALLENGES IT POSES TO THE U.S. AS IT GROWS.
>>> AFTER LEAVING BEIJING, WE
ARRIVE
ARRIVE ARRIVE.
ARRIVE. THIS CITY APPEARS FROM ALMOST
NOWHERE.
NOWHERE. 30 YEARS AGO IT WAS A FISHING
VILLAGE.
VILLAGE. THEN THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT
TRIED AN EXPERIMENT, SPECIAL
ECONOMIC ZONE.
ECONOMIC ZONE. SURE ENOUGH, THE MONEY POURED
IN.
IN. >> WELCOME.
>> WELCOME. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>> WILLIAM WAS ONE OF THOSE
AMERICAN INVESTORS ATTRACTED BY
CHINA’S NEW ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITY.
OPPORTUNITY. >> SO I’VE BEEN IN MAINLAND
CHINA FOR THE LAST SINCE 2002.
>> HOW HAS IT CHANGED?
>> ONE MONTH HERE IS LIKE SIX
MONTHS TO A YEAR ANYWHERE ELSE.
THEY MOVE EXTREMELY QUICKLY.
>> IF SILICON VALLEY IS THE
GLOBAL SOFTWARE CAPITAL, THIS IS
THE KINGDOM OF HARDWARE WHERE
90% OF THE WORLD’S CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS ARE MADE.
BUT THE WAY THIS CITY DEVELOPED
ITS HARDWARE EXPERTISE IS TO SAY
THE LEAST CONTROVERSIAL.
IN MARKET STALLS ALL ACROSS THE
CITY, PEOPLE TAKE APART AND
ANALYZE THE LATEST INNOVATION
FROM WESTERN COMPANIES, THEN
FIGURE OUT HOW TO COPY THEM.
THE CHINESE HAVE A WORD FOR IT.
ROUGH TRANSLATION, TINKERING.
THE U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENT
HAS ANOTHER WORD FOR IT.
THEFT.
THEFT. A LOT OF AMERICANS SAY CHINA GOT
THIS WAY BY RIPPING OFF THE
UNITED STATES, BY RIPPING OFF
TECHNOLOGY, COPYING IT.
>> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. WHEN YOU START OFF, YOU BEG,
BORROW AND STEAL FROM WHOEVER
YOU CAN.
YOU CAN. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DOING IT HERE
NOW FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS.
THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS YOU’RE
ACTUALLY SEEING INNOVATION HERE
FOR THE FIRST TIME.
>> AND THAT’S THE BIG LEAP,
MOVING FROM IMITATION TO
CREATION.
CREATION. THAT’S WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW.
BECAUSE THEY’VE BEEN COPYING
THINGS HERE FOR SO LONG, THEY’VE
GOTTEN REALLY FAST.
>> TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN
HAVE A NEW PRODUCT IN THE MARKET
WITHIN A WEEK BEFORE OTHER
PEOPLE IN OTHER COUNTRIES ARE
JUST GETTING DONE WITHDRAWING
OUT THEIR PLANS.
IT’S VERY DIFFICULT FOR ANY
OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD TO
COMPETE.
COMPETE. WE’RE IN HERE.
THIS IS US.
WE HELP STARTUP COMPANIES COME
HERE.
HERE. WE’VE GOT PRODUCTS HERE.
THESE ARE THE COMPANIES WE’VE
INVESTED IN AROUND THE WORLD.
WE BRING THEM HERE TO TAKE THEIR
PRODUCTS FROM PROTOTYPES INTO
THE MARKET.
THE MARKET. >> HOW MANY COMPANIES?
>> WE WERE THE FIRST HARDWARE IN
THE WORLD WITH 250 COMPANIES
THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS
PROGRAM.
PROGRAM. >> HE CALLS HIS TECH INCUBATOR
HACK.
HACK. ENTREPRENEURS COME HERE TO WORK
ON EVERYTHING FROM ROBOTS TO
MACHINES THAT WILL HELP THEIR
PING-PONG GAME.
PING-PONG GAME. HACK GIVES THEM OFFICE SPACE,
WORKSHOPS AND BUSINESS
EXPERTISE, ALL FOR A PIECE OF
THE COMPANY.
THE COMPANY. >> WE BRING ENGINEERING TALENT
THEY MIGHT BE MISSING.
WE BRING CAPITAL.
WE INTRODUCE INVESTORS.
>> THIS USED TO BE CALLED THE
AMERICAN DREAM.
AMERICAN DREAM. >> YES.
>> YES. >> YOU WOULD START A COMPANY AND
BRING IT TO MARKET.
THAT’S CALLED THE AMERICAN
DREAM.
DREAM. >> THE AMERICAN DREAM NOW