Huawei at forefront of a green, digital Asia Pacific

MANILA, Philippines — As Asia Pacific countries have taken major steps to enable digitalization and low carbonization in their economies, China-based technology giant Huawei is leading the buildup of digital infrastructure to unlock the region’s potential as a digital powerhouse.

In a speech during the Huawei Asia Pacific Digital Innovation Congress in Singapore last week, Huawei rotating chairman Ken Hu said many Asia Pacific countries have elevated digital transformation to a strategic policy level and are actively going green.

“Moving forward, we will keep investing heavily in innovation to help our partners in the region meet their strategic development goals. In 2022, we will increase our support for a green and digital Asia Pacific by promoting digital infrastructure, low-carbon development, and digital inclusion,” he said.

Hu said in order to go digital more successfully in the Asia Pacific region, there should be focus on three areas: digital infrastructure, industrial applications, and digital talent.

He said Asia Pacific countries are already doing a great job on digital infrastructure since mobile coverage in the region has almost reached 100 percent. By 2025, it is estimated that the region will have 1.2 billion 5G connections.

“But connectivity is not everything. It helps us to collect and transfer much more data than before. However, we still need much stronger capabilities to process that data. In addition to strong connectivity, we also need to build more important infrastructure like cloud and data centers,” he said.

Next, he said, is that industries across the region are working hard to speed up the development and adoption of digital applications which is already creating real value.

He cited for example Thailand, which is using 5G to bring healthcare services to more people in remote regions. And in the Philippines, people are using AI and connected devices to help protect the rainforest.

In the final area of digital talent, Hu said by 2030, the Asia Pacific workforce is estimated to reach 2.2 billion people. And compared to other regions, this workforce will be relatively young.

“This is an important advantage, and we should invest more in the next generation of digital talent.”