Maxime Blondeau

Last october, I have been invited to attend Huawei Connect in Paris, an impressive event at Porte de Versailles gathering 500 European tech leaders on a “Green and Digital Transition” agenda.

The reason I accepted is that I wanted to measure how Huawei was developing an ambitious vision of ecological transition. In this 2-day trip, I learned a lot, not only on Chinese mindset but also on the way predictive tools work such as Pangu AI model, which is now very able to model in 3D our planetary system.

So what is the vision?

Unsurprisingly, optimization and decarbonation.

The transition will be “energy first”. A very technical and urban perspective.

But it makes sense, because Huawei is above all a telecom company which maintains very close bonds with industrial logistics, from production to distribution. Based in Shenzhen since its beginnings in the 80s, just there in the world factory, Huawei distinguishes itself from American Tech giants such as Apple or Google by its understanding of heavy industry sector, transportation, building as well as cutting-edge technologies.

Because they are all based there, in Shenzhen.

It is now the beating heart of the largest urban area on the planet, the Great Bay Area with Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Macau which together have more than 70 million inhabitants. In 15 years, Shenzhen has grown from 7 to 18 million inhabitants within its walls, making it the third city in China after Beijing and Shanghai.

Large enough to experiment the smart city at an unseen scale.

Shenzhen is the city with the most electric vehicles in the world.

All thermal buses and trucks are now banned from the city.

Because China is the second “continental power” after Europe to have announced an industrial and energy transition with a view to ambitious decarbonization.

Carbon neutrality for 2060 is the official commitment.

And to fulfill this ambition, Huawei has focused on the development of a department specifically dedicated to the selling and optimization of solar energy networks: Digital Power.

At its opening show, Huawei has been openly promoting solar energy with the jumping Dutchman Dries Acke, CEO of SolarPower Europe.

I will share one message from his intervention, not the duck metaphor but the fact that solar energy has exploded all over the world since 2018. In China of course, but everywhere and particularly in Europe. Except in France.

Only one country has reduced its solar production. Here come the Gauls, followers of Jean-Marc Jancovici, as we all are.

The Tech giant is however concerned with European and French culture. On stage, one of its most important clients in France appeared : Michel Edouard Leclerc, President of the E. Leclerc Group.

For the cooperative, Huawei has been taking care of logistics centers, drive shopping and digital processes Michel Edouard Leclerc recounted the long and ancient collaboration between the French distribution giant and the telecom titan, emphasizing respect for local cultures and promoting employment. Frankly, I was surprised and even touched by the open friendship he depicted, between this old fashioned 72-year-old entrepreneur and Huawei.

In summary, as soon as we enter the show room, we are offered

• Flow optimization by smart cities
• Energy efficiency through smart grids
• Production of renewable energy from solar
• Predictive analysis with Pangu Weather AI.

So yes, I am convinced that China is preparing a green transition comparable to Europe in terms of decarbonization and energy. In Europe, we call this green growth. And it is driven by technical innovation which is leading China, not to catch up with Europe, but to surpass it in many aspects.

Its financial and technical power allows it to advance very quickly.

Huawei is one of the companies that spend the most money on research on the planet. End of 2020, Huawei opened one of the most advanced research and development centers in the world dedicated to fundamental mathematical research in Paris. Their R&D department employs more than 70,000 people worldwide, including in Europe – 45% of the payroll.

Moreover, scientific bonds between Europe and China have produced results with Pangu AI. An article in the science journal Nature in 2023 revealed how much Pangu AI Weather’s predictive model is now more powerful and more accurate than any previous model. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06185-3.

Since July, it is also available on the website of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) . On this website, global weather forecasters, meteorologists, weather enthusiasts, as well as the general public can now view Pangu-Weather’s 10-day global weather forecasts for free. https://www.ecmwf.int/

ECMWF also released a technical report titled The rise of data-driven weather forecasting which tested Pangu-Weather. The report includes a comparison between the forecasts made by Pangu-Weather and ones from ECMWF IFS (a leading global NWP system), from April to July this year. « The results are very promising, with comparable skill for both global metrics and extreme events, when verified against both the operational analysis and synoptic observations. »

I will share soon my views on this specific subject in another article.

So Huawei’s vision of the transition seems classic in appearance, but unprecedented in capabilities. Tech4All and Tech4Nature programs offer great experimental grounds such as the use of audio and visual sensors for conservation; In a nutshell, what if surveillance and social control technologies were diverted towards a better care for ecosystems?

Joint experimental grounds between the IUCN, Huawei and research laboratories around the world are currently presenting sensational results.

But on other levels, the gap with other European companies remains significant.

• The interest on circular economy seem shadowed by the urge of decarbonization
• Water and food do not appear very clearly in the equations.
• Tech governance topics seem only performance driven

And the idea of post-growth, sobriety and regenerative economy has not been addressed during the event.

But I really believe their interest is sincere. I have seen many greenwashing event, and I witnessed how quickly the Chinese industrial paradigm is moving forward from quantity to quality. Chinese taoist cosmology combined with a colossal transformative capability could very well make a difference in the world. China could become a global catalyst among developing countries, in Asia, in Africa and as well as in Europe.

I have the intuition it is now crucial we develop with China enough mutual trust.

It might even be necessary when it comes to such a systemic issue, the current global transition.

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