Reviewed by: Today's Manager - the official bi-monthly publication of the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) Publication Issue Date: April - May 2008
THE author of this book believes that China will et the
pace for technological revolution in the 21st century. he is
convinced that the next Steve Jobs or Bill Cates will emerge
from China. That's the message of Silicon Dragon, a book
that profiles the new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs
who are challenging the United States for global high-tech
leadership.
Based on interviews with the inventors behind today's
cutting-edge advances in wireless communications, the Web,
E-commerce, search, and software, the book provides a behind-
the-scenes look at how China is going to win the new
tech race. Many of these Chinese entrepreneurs started out
copying Amazon, Google, MySpace, YouTube, and Netscape. Now they promise to invent the next new thing.
The author uses interviews with leading Chinese entrepreneurs
like Alibaba's Jack Ma, Baidu's Robin Li, and
Suntech Power's Dr Shi to elaborate how the Chinese startups
have ramped up in record speed and are poised to go
public or have already listed on Nasdaq and the New York
Stock Exchange.
Interestingly, most of these China-born technopreneurs
are educated in the west, but returned to their homeland
to take advantage of growing markets there. Robin Li,
the founder and CEO of China's leading search engine
Baidu.com, is one example. Globally he may lack the name
recognition of Google's Larry Page or Sergey Brin, but in
China, Li is an E-technology superstar and a pioneer among
China's young technopreneurs.
The author spotlights 12 Chinese technopreneurs
whom she believes will give their Silicon Valley rivals a run
for their money. Their companies are divided into two categories:
copycats and innovators. However, I was annoyed
with the author's penchant for labelling her subjects as "the
next Thomas Edison" or “the next Rupert Murdoch," and
their companies as "MySpace China". While these businessmen
are obviously on the path to success, it is very high
praise indeed to be labelling them after such luminaries unnecessarily.
The author does however, do a good job of making a
case for China's shift from making technology to driving
technology. While readers mayor may not agree with the
author's assessment of China being the next beacon of technical
innovation, they cannot ignore the vivid fact that the force is coming strong and formidable.
