Jack Ma: The future has come

Chapter 27 Dialogue with the World (4)
Zuckerberg: I ​​promised my wife that I would teach my daughter Chinese.My husband and I often joke that our daughter's mother tongue is English and Chinese is jerky.My wife grew up in the United States, so her English is better than Chinese. We really don't know who should teach our daughter Chinese.However, I hope to teach her a curiosity.There are so many things in the world that are not obvious, and I hope she can learn and realize that many things need to be explored by herself.That book was given to us by a friend, and it is called "Quantum Physics for Babies". I hope she can learn physics slowly.

No matter what she wants to do in the future, whether she is a teacher, a doctor like her mother, or she wants to start her own business, I hope she can have such a thirst for knowledge.Intellectual curiosity is me wanting to know why, and why I can't do better.

Ma Yun: I feel lucky for my daughter. She doesn't need to learn quantum physics. I don't know what quantum physics is.We work so hard to make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren.I want my children to be healthy, happier and more optimistic.I don't care about what my daughter will do in the future, as long as she grows up healthier, happier, can solve problems optimistically, and face challenges optimistically, that's fine.

The Troika of the Future Chinese Economy: Consumption, Services and High Technology
Question: Mr. Jack Ma, hello, I am from Yale University.You are the engine of Chinese consumption, and Mark is the one who can start the engine.What would you like to say about today's topic?
Jack Ma: When I started my business, I hoped that my company would last for 102 years.Therefore, when making any plans within the company, as the chairman of the board of directors, I have to consider the development of the next 10 years. The CEO may think about the situation in 5 to 8 years, the VP (vice president) level thinks about the three-year plan, the director level thinks about the plan for this year, and ordinary employees focus on the immediate work.China's economy will have ups and downs, but in a long cycle of 3 to 10 years, I think China's economy will be very good, and now is the most painful period.

Over the past 30 years, China has enjoyed great dividends, and now it needs to pay a little price.In the next 15 years, China's economy will transform into a model driven by consumption, services and high technology.

People say that China's economy is slowing down, but we don't have unemployment problems yet.Young people can find jobs, and employment opportunities can be created in the consumer sector, high-tech industries, and service industries.Looking at the troika of China's economy, investment, export and domestic consumption, I think that in terms of infrastructure, it should change from infrastructure investment to infrastructure operation and management.The country has invested so much money in infrastructure over the past few decades, and it is time to make better use of this infrastructure.In terms of export, China should not only focus on the meager profits obtained from low-quality and cheap exports. We must allow China's manufacturing industry to truly upgrade its technology and produce better products.

As for domestic demand, domestic demand should be driven by the market.In the next three to five years, we will better transform the old economic development model into a new economic development model driven by consumption, services and high technology.

For Ali, in the next few decades, consumption, services and high technology are all related to us.So, I told our team, this is our job, our opportunity.Only by creating employment opportunities can the economy be sustainable.

Question: Hello, I am a representative of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank).Just now Zuckerberg mentioned that there are still 40 billion people not connected to the Internet, and Ma Yun talked about the investment in infrastructure.I would like to ask, what suggestions do you have for developing infrastructure and realizing interconnection in Asia?
Zuckerberg: Many of the 40 billion people who do not have access to the Internet are in Asia, but in fact, China is doing better than many countries.Looking at global statistics, the number of people below the poverty line has dropped from 10 billion to 5 million. Most of this achievement is attributed to China.In fact, other regions have also seen increases in poverty.

We are more encouraged by the growing popularity of the Internet.For every ten people connected to the Internet, one person can be lifted out of poverty and two people can find a job.The infrastructure in rural areas is relatively backward, but the Internet can allow students in these areas to obtain relevant learning resources.The same is true for medical treatment. In rural areas, if there is no way to find an experienced doctor, patients can use the Internet to find medical resources.The same goes for finding a job.China has already moved ahead in the construction of Internet infrastructure, and will continue to advance in the next five years.

Of the 15 billion people in India, 10 billion do not have access to the Internet.If we can build India's infrastructure, it will be a very big opportunity.

Ma Yun: I like this question. I think developing countries have great potential.We believe that the focus of investment should be shifted to rural areas. There are more than one billion people living in rural areas. How to ensure that they can use the Internet and mobile Internet?The other is the education system, how to let them receive education through the Internet or mobile technology?

In the past, we invested a lot in IT. In the IT era, there will be a 20-80 confrontation. 80% of the people get rich quickly, and 80% of the people do not benefit.But in the DT era, inclusive finance and infrastructure should be established to benefit 30% of the people.In the DT era, 80% of people should live better through the improvement of infrastructure.In the next 80 years, we should go to the countryside and use technology to help these 80% of people.If [-]% of consumers and small businesses can unlock their potential, there is a huge opportunity.In the past, a lot of investment was given to large multinational companies. Now we should use infrastructure investment to make [-]% of the people rich. This is what we have to do.

5. San Francisco Dialogue with Silicon Valley Elites

Background tips:

On May 2013, 5, Jack Ma participated in the "Dialogue with Silicon Valley Elites" event at Stanford University in California, USA.Ma Yun's speech was based on "gratitude" as the keynote, saying that there would be no Alibaba without Silicon Valley.In his speech, he reviewed his mental journey of founding Alibaba, and believed that it was the times and the team that created his success; he even said that he is a CEO who does not understand technology at all, so he respects and respects technical talents.The main purpose of this event is to attract more overseas talents to return to China to join Alibaba.

If you do nothing, the world will change without you
Ma Yun: I attended the conference of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Los Angeles yesterday. This speech may be my last speech before resigning as CEO of Alibaba.Without Silicon Valley, there may be no Alibaba.

It's a really interesting era. In 1996, one night when I was riding a bicycle on Wener Road in Hangzhou, I saw a few people stealing the manhole cover.At this time, someone suddenly came to help.It was only later that I found out that the TV station was doing a social participation test, and it was said that I was the only person who passed the test that night.The world is changing, if you do nothing, then this change will have nothing to do with you; on the contrary, you can be the beneficiary of this change.That was my first time on TV.

The second time I was on TV, because "Oriental Time and Space" has a column called "People's Stories".At that time, I went to the national ministries to lobby and introduce the Internet to them, but they turned me down because they said I looked like a bad person.I started working on the Internet at the end of 1994 and early 1995, half a year earlier than Ying Haiwei [23], so I should be No.1 in Internet development in China.When Beijing Zhongguancun wrote "How far is the Chinese from the highway", I have already started my business for half a year.

I am grateful for this era.The first time I went to Harvard to give a speech, the topic was "Why is there room for Internet in China".I think there are three reasons: we have no money; we don't understand technology; we never plan.First, we only had 5 yuan when we started our business. The reason why many entrepreneurs fail may be because they are too rich.When you think money can solve the problem, then you must not have encountered the real problem.So far, Alibaba may be a company with relatively large cash reserves in the Internet industry in China and even in the world.Second, we have no technology, and I don't understand technology.As of today, I still don't understand what Coding[24] is all about.I think the most tragic thing about Alibaba is that the CEO doesn't understand technology at all, and the luckiest thing is that the CEO doesn't understand technology.Because I don't understand technology, I trust employees and engineers.A layman can lead an expert, the key is to learn to respect the expert.Because I don't understand technology, I became the only tester of technical products in the company.I believe that there is no shortage of technology in China and the world, what is lacking is the appreciation and awe of technology.Third, we have no plan.I haven't written a business plan, I tried one time in Silicon Valley and it got rejected. When we started our business in 1995, no matter how detailed the business plan was, it felt like a fool.But we have a sense of direction, we are executing, and finally we do it with action.

It is ideas and technology that change the world now

Jack Ma: Why is Alibaba today?Because this is an era of change, the development has been too fast in the past 30 years, and it will only get faster and faster in the next 30 years.We must see that the changes of any era are opportunities for young people.

From the time of starting a business, Alibaba's mission is to make business easy to do in the world. We want to help entrepreneurs.The world is changing so fast that it is difficult for you to understand what consumers really want, but small businesses understand what customers want.There are countless small businesses in China, in the United States, and in Africa. Wherever there are small businesses, we have opportunities.If there are no small businesses, we will make big businesses small.In the industrial age, success depends on scale, while in the information age and data age, success depends on innovation and personalization.Now changing the world depends on ideas and technology, and technology can change the lives of many people.We came to the United States, hoping to do something for the small and medium-sized enterprises in the United States.We are in awe of technology, and we are in awe of future development.

Development Opportunities for "Returnees" Talents in the Next 10 Years
Moderator: I have listened to Mr. Ma's speech for 13 years, and every time I am so excited, I can get new inspiration every time.We have collected some questions, let me ask Mr. Ma first: China's economy is developing faster and faster, can you talk about the development opportunities for talents who return to China in the next 10 years?

Ma Yun: I believe that in the next 10 years, the whole world will undergo earth-shaking changes, and the changes in China will be especially great.China's opportunity today is that the domestic demand market is changing, and demand is changing.In the past, Chinese people were happy to sell things, but now, Chinese people have started to consume. This is a big change.The Internet has changed all aspects of our society and life.For returnees, as long as you are willing to change yourself and adapt to the local environment, you will definitely have opportunities.I have always felt that "returnees" need to be farmed in fresh water, and "earth turtles" need to be raised in the sea. "Returnees" have no chance overseas, and "earth turtles" have no chance in China.

Question: Hello, Mr. Ma, with your eloquence and years of entrepreneurial experience, it would be a pity if you do not return to colleges and universities to share with students in the future.What I want to ask is, is it possible for you to go to school to share your years of entrepreneurial experience in the future?
Ma Yun: If I can do something, I am quite interested in the reform of China's education system.However, you should talk less when you go to school. If you talk too much, the people on the stage will be annoying, and the people off the stage will also be annoying.Young people have no experience, so they may not understand what I said.I remember one time when I went to Peking University to give a speech. The students listened very happily and thought I was talking about stand-up comedy.My speech may only be helpful to those who resonate.In the future, I will talk more about it in the entrepreneurial community, because we have all suffered hardships, and we cannot tell the same stories like Mrs. Xianglin.So I think, students should go to the market for two years first, and then we can communicate after returning, which might be better.

I can't be Buffett

Question: Buffett started his business from an insurance company. His greatest success experience is to make good use of the cash flow of the insurance company to make good investments.Now that Alibaba has become a company with a very large cash reserve, can you also make good use of cash flow like Buffett?Have you ever wanted to be China's Buffett?
Ma Yun: Buffett is a miracle of the times. It is very tiring to want to create a miracle.I never wanted to be Buffett, and I don't think I could be Buffett, but your question is a good one.Where did our money come from, I thought about it.When we first started our business many years ago, we were very poor.I asked my wife, do you want me to be the richest man in China, or to be a real entrepreneur and respected person?My wife said, of course you should be a respected person.That sentence had a huge impact on me.Until today, I have never even thought about being the richest man in Hangzhou.Because being the richest man is too tiring, being rich does not necessarily mean being the richest man.

When you have 100 million RMB or 100 million US dollars, the money is yours and you have a sense of happiness.When you have $1000 million or $2000 million, you will feel troubled, worry about depreciation, and invest, but fail or worry about failure. This is unhappiness.When you have 10, [-], or [-], you should understand that this is not your money, it is given to you by others, it is given to you by the society, and you help manage it.This is trust in you.

I figured it out a long time ago. Companies like Tencent, Google, and Microsoft, including Alibaba, have so much cash. The society believes that with this money, we have higher investment efficiency and a higher chance of entrepreneurial success than others. Big.After Ali got the money, my thinking was we have to spend it.If we don't spend it, others will spend it for us, and the bank will spend it for us.As for how to do it, I haven't figured it out yet, but we will definitely do it.Invest more and help more people.My investment will fail, and others will fail. Why not leave this failure to our own company?The worst thing is that Zhao Benshan said that you still have money after you die, and others are spending your money.So I think that when you are alive and your mind is not bad, you should spend money.This flower is for the society, for those who trust you.Becoming Buffett, I think it is too difficult, Buffett has so much money.I can compete with Gats who will retire sooner, and I will retire a few years earlier than him.Buffett relies on money to succeed, and we rely on people, organizations, and the Internet to succeed. In completely different fields, we have different ways of playing.You play basketball with Jordan, which is not interesting at all, you want to play Go with him.

Data in the data age is for sharing

Question: I am an academic, and my research and teaching need to be based on data analysis.As a platform, Alibaba has a lot of data. Can you talk about how Alibaba supports academics in China and around the world?
Jack Ma: There is a huge difference between the information age and the data age. Data in the information age is for analysis, while data in the data age is for sharing.I think our data should be used by more people under the premise of ensuring security and privacy. This is our contribution to society.When it comes to security and privacy, it's a complex issue.

(End of this chapter)