The BEYOND Expo opened online with BEYOND Virtual, a nearly month-long online conference. BEYOND Virtual will offer 18 panel discussions, featuring 40 distinguished speakers from around the world. The panels will provide deep-dive discussions on trending and critical topics in the tech sector. The Expo will host an on-site event from December 2 to 4 at the Venetian Macao Convention and Exhibition Center.
Below is the transcript of the opening day speech from Dr. Song Xiao, Global Executive Vice President of Siemens and President and CEO of Siemens Greater China. The text has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Dear ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to address the opening plenary of BEYOND International Technology Innovation Expo.
Humanity is facing huge challenges: the ongoing pandemic, urbanization, globalization, demographic change, and, of course, climate change.
To master these challenges, we need to unlock the potential of digitalization and transform the backbone of our economies. I do believe digital transformation is imperative for all markets, industries, and societies to achieve high-quality growth, carbon neutrality, and resilience.
The potential of digitalization is huge. Let’s take public transportation, for example. Fully automated signaling technology can increase capacity by 20 percent and reduce energy consumption by 35 percent without adding any infrastructure.
In industry, 60 percent of manufacturing tasks can be automated and digitalized, meaning we can do more with less. This is all about collecting the real and digital worlds, creating a digital twin of your products and manufacturing process to improve quality, productivity, environmental efficiency, and shortened time to market.
Talking about smart cities, for example, commercial buildings. Digital technologies can achieve a saving potential of up to 20 percent in operation and maintenance. Buildings can connect, learn, and benefit from each other. For example, at Expo 2020, 140 buildings are connected by a digital platform, which analyzes 200,000 data points in almost real-time to optimize energy consumption, lighting, cooling, and fire safety. This can be a blueprint for sustainable smart cities.
As the economic cooperation link between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and the key region of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, Macau is gaining importance with an open economy and a better innovation environment. This will support strong digital growth for Macau to grow into a modern international base with global influence.
Dear friends, we at Siemens, with our 174-year history, are grateful for the opportunity to grow here in the Greater Bay Area. We stand ready to contribute to further sustainable growth.
Today, no country or organization can unlock the potential of digital transformation on its own. We have to work very closely and openly together. This will lead to an open ecosystem, where everyone brings something in, and everyone is able to take more out. Let’s join our hands to build an open innovation ecosystem that benefits all.
Let’s transform every day together. Thank you again for the invitation. I wish you a successful conference.