Pushing the Envelope on Technology and Innovation
By David Krezmer
October 20, 2016
As we board the bus (shown off flawlessly by our fearless leader Kimberly below), we head to the Hauwei Technologies Exhibition Center. Personally, I was a little disappointed as we were initially scheduled to visit my employer, HSBC. That disappointment was very short lived as we pull into a red carpet arrival, literally!
The grandeur of the lobby of the exhibition center has the entire group in stunned awe. This feeling grows upon turning the corner and seeing the first exhibit, a 16k ultra high definition television. Words cannot describe the clarity and vividness of the screen, one of the groups’ members comment that they literally were startled because they thought the fountain on the screen was actual running water!
The tour continues as we learn about the Huawei corporate overview with its business split up into three parts; carriers, enterprise solutions, and consumer. I am absolutely floored when our tour guide shares that Huawei generates over $60bn per year in annual revenue. For comparison, Huwaei generates more revenue than UPS, Lowes, Coca Cola, and Disney.
The sheer breadth of the product offerings that Huwaei has is amazing. Among many exhibits, they share their 2020 plan to offer speeds up to 10GB on mobile phones. Imagine downloading a 4k movie to your phone in sheer seconds! Huwaei offers a fully integrated smart home solution to remotely water your plants, change house temperatures, and most impressively – the ability to pause a video on your television and have indicators tell you exactly what the person on the screen is wearing, where it’s from, and how much it costs. They proved it to us with an excerpt from The Devil Wears Prada as the video was paused and an arrow pointed to Meryl Streep’s $600 Versace shirt, with a link to purchase!
The tour continues with a detailed look into ultra high definition video conferencing. Our tour guide shares with us that many customers use this functionality to share meals with each other from cities across the globe because the video quality is so strong it’s nearly equivalent to sitting at the same table! Lastly, the tour concludes with an exhibit of Huawei’s fastest growing business, mobile devices. From smart watches to tablets and mobile phones, Huwaei has a diverse and extremely high quality product offering. It is easy to see why the company is projecting $80bn in revenue for next year.
I believe this morning’s visit to Huwaei is a seminal moment for the group in our growth in how we perceive China. No longer is China simply a manufacturing hub, the country now possesses a thriving private sector that is pushing the envelope on technology and innovation as seen at Huwaei. With a potential customer market domestically of 1.4bn people, we see first hand the opportunity Huawei has to grow in the future. But most importantly, we continue to experience the kindness and truly first class hospitality that China has exhibited from the moment we landed.
Stay tuned for more! The iQIYI Studios is up next!
David Krezmer is currently a Corporate Banking Associate on the HSBC Corporate Banking Team based in Atlanta, GA. David graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S.B.A in Finance. David is involved locally with the Young Leaders of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta and is also a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters.
In his free time, David enjoys kayaking, golfing, and cheering on his beloved Buckeyes!
YLFPChina Web
http://international.gsu.edu/ylfpchina
Homma Rafi | YLFPChina Media Contact
Office of International Initiatives, Georgia State University
hrafi1@gsu.edu
Paulina Guzman | YLFPChina Co-Director
World Affairs Council of Atlanta
pguzman1@gsu.edu
Kimberly Griffin | YLFPChina Co-Director
Confucius Institute, Georgia State University
kgriffin25@gsu.edu