Director General Daren Tang | Innovation at a Crossroads, Translating Innovation into Economic and Social Impact Remains the Key

November 10, 2022

On November 9, Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), attended the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit and delivered a video speech.

Mr. Tang noted that we are meeting at a time of transition and transformation. On the one hand, forces such as the digital acceleration and the rise of new technologies are recasting our economies and societies and creating new avenues of growth. On the other hand, we face a range of challenges from the lingering pandemic, to global inflation, climate change and geopolitical stresses. WIPO Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 finds that innovation is at a crossroads and we need to pay close attention to how this translates into economic and social impact.

Mr. Tang mentioned that GII 2022 identifies that the world will experience two major waves of innovation in the future:  the Digital Age and Deep Science. China's progress in the innovation and creation in recently years has been remarkable. From 34th place a decade ago, China is now on the threshold of entering the global top 10, at number 11 in the GII 2022. In 2022, China has as many science and technology clusters in the world's top 100 as the United States for the first time. China is a long-standing and important partner of WIPO and WIPO will continue to support China, and all our Member States, to prosper in the digital age. 

About the 2022 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the 2022 WIC Wuzhen Summit. President Xi called on the international community, faced with the opportunities and challenges brought by digitalization, to jointly build a cyberspace that is fairer and more equitable, more open and inclusive, safer and more stable, and more vibrant.

2022 WIC Wuzhen Summit is co-hosted by the WIC, the WIPO, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the International Telecommunication Union and the Global System for Mobile Communications Association in Wuzhen, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, and is the first summit of the WIC since its establishment in July 2022. With the theme of "Towards a New Era of Digital Civilization -- Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace", the Summit brought together more than 2,000 delegates from governments, international organizations, industry associations, Chinese and foreign Internet enterprises, universities and research institutes from over 120 countries and regions.