Pony Ma highlights city's drive to promote technology

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Shanghai Daily, April 21, 2015
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On April 13, Shanghai Party Chief Han Zheng invited Tencent Inc founder, chairman and chief executive officer Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, to give a 90 minute lecture during a study session of the members of the standing committee of CPC Shanghai Committee.

Ma's lecture centered on the Chinese government's Internet Plus plan, a new initiative designed to accelerate the development of mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of things's integration with modern manufacturing industries. Ultimately, leaders see the strengthening of these areas as vital to the advancement and expansion of e-commerce, Internet finance and other emerging pillars of economic growth.

On the same day Ma delivered his lecture, Tencent and the Shanghai government signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement.

It is rare for private entrepreneurs to be guest speakers for such high-level study sessions. In fact, Ma is the first such a guest speaker from an Internet company to give a lecture to senior officials in Shanghai since Han became the city's Party chief. But with the top leadership now advocating a larger role for technology, more guest speakers with similar backgrounds are likely to step onto the podium to speak to leaders.

Study sessions like the one mentioned above are usually held on a monthly basis and have traditionally featured guest lecturers from central government agencies, academic institutions and research centers. Recently though, local authorities have also looked elsewhere for advice and insights when it comes to solving practical problems.

In July 2013, for example, Han invited four community-level cadres to address the members of the standing committee of CPC Shanghai Committee, the city's highest ranking Party officials. At that time, the CPC was in the midst of a campaign to get closer to ordinary people and Han was quoted as saying that officials should "regard the public as (their) teachers."

The following year, three "grassroots" officials were invited to share their thoughts on "carrying out core values of socialism." Such invitations suggest a growing emphasis on real-world knowledge when it comes to planning policy.

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