Global De-risking and Local Risk-taking: Chinese Entrepreneurship and Technologies in Time of Global Challenges

Abstract

Global environmental crises, geopolitical tensions, and the emergence of new technologies are compelling businesses to adapt to changes. This article delves into strategies employed by Chinese entrepreneurs seeking to create and develop sustainable products and markets by using bio-engineering and digital technologies as a ‘new generation’ of appropriate technologies. The article uses case studies to illustrate that these sophisticated technologies are large scale, both in geographical coverage and numbers of users. Their growing accessibility, often at relatively low costs, to large populations, raises ethical concerns, as deployment may precede a comprehensive understanding or regulation of their applications. The analytical focus shifts from merely evaluating the impact of these technologies on development and poverty alleviation, as traditionally associated with appropriate technologies, to scrutinizing businesses’ accountability for their ethical use and control. Consequently, appropriate technologies should be redefined for the 21st century: ‘broad and bold’, as well as ‘small’, may also be beautiful.