Ni Guangnan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering: "ZTE was fined" because its core technology was controlled by others丨2017 Communications Industry Internet of Things Conference

Ni Guangnan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering

Ni Guangnan believes that China is very enthusiastic about the Internet of Things, even surpassing other countries. However, it is still facing the problem of "core technology being controlled by others", which is the biggest hidden danger hindering the development of the Internet of Things in my country.

He said that ZTE's fine highlights the huge risk of being controlled by others in its core technology, which also shows that ZTE's independent intellectual property capabilities are not enough. Leifeng.com (official account: Leifeng.com) also reported that in March this year, ZTE agreed to plead guilty for violating sanctions and paid a fine of US$1.19 billion to the US government. This sanction case also shows to some extent that China is still seriously dependent on the core technology of other countries.

The following is the transcript of Chen Baoli's speech. Leifeng.com has edited it without changing the original meaning:

Good morning, distinguished guests! Actually, I am here to learn. The meeting I attended yesterday was also related to the Internet of Things. I found that China is more enthusiastic about the Internet of Things than other countries. This is normal because it is our opportunity. For some emerging fields, we hope to go from following to running side by side, and even to leading. The 2017 China Communications Industry Internet of Things Conference can lead the entire communications industry and the Internet of Things industry to make great progress.

China's cybersecurity and informatization: From following to running side by side

I am now working more on some things related to smart terminals and mobile terminals, but I have not studied the Internet of Things. Overall, China's cybersecurity and informatization ranks second in the world, but it is not yet a cyberpower. We must realize that our industrial position is much better than that of other countries. We will not enter the ranks of world powers until 2025, but fortunately we can maintain such a position in cybersecurity and informatization. In the field of Internet and communications, I hope that everyone can work together to see if we can make the Internet of Things in the field of communications better in the world.

We are now in the stage of moving from better to the best. Our BeiDou will actually compete with GPS by 2020. This is not easy. Our communications are number one in the world.

The first echelon of cybersecurity and informatization. According to the State Council of Cyberspace Affairs, among the top 20, 12 are from the United States, 7 from China, and 1 from Japan. The second echelon, the 20 people in the front, can be compared to the stage of following and then running side by side. We need to go from following to running side by side, and then running side by side to leading in the future. When it comes to the world's top five mobile phone brands, Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, etc., we hope to be the first as soon as possible.

Security issues: If core technologies are controlled by others, we will be attacked

The second aspect is that our core technology is controlled by others, which is our biggest hidden danger. We hope to be a little ahead in the world, and 3G has just caught up. President Xi said: Our core technology is controlled by others, and we are still controlled by others in many important core technologies. Although China has a lot of money, don't expect to buy it with money. We want to acquire some valuable companies, but they won't let you acquire them or buy them. Regarding security issues, many things are obviously Network security Informatization is developing simultaneously, but we are still using the old way. So even if we develop first, sometimes the losses are quite large.

We know that all the technical means that are commonly used in the market now must have a way out. Some time ago, WikiLeaks exposed that the CIA eavesdropped on smart devices around the world. This shows that WikiLeaks told us a lot of things that it didn't tell you when it was designed. In 2015, Obama said, "I guarantee that as long as we want to win, we will win." He said this with reason, because he knew that China's foundation is still theirs, and these things are actually controlled by them. He said that he can win and guarantee that he can win, and that is not an empty talk. How can we guarantee that it will not win today? If we don't have the core, there is no chance.

"ZTE was fined" highlights the huge risk of core technology being controlled by others. ZTE's patents are very high, but it is not enough. The large-scale software SIP in the United States is 100% owned by their country except Germany. The United States has set an example for us. What is a network power? If the core technology is not in their country, we cannot become a strong country, no matter how big the scale is, it is useless.

Why do we emphasize innovation, core technology, and learning lessons? The leakage of unsafe information and fines can explain the series of consequences. Many people say there are various reasons, saying that popular technologies on the market cannot be used, and that self-development is too slow and too expensive. Development is the hard truth.

If you are controlled by others, you will be beaten. For example, Iran is not backward. Its communication equipment is also embedded in IoT equipment. It is not that it has no money, nor that its equipment itself is not advanced or backward. It is that the things you buy are not yours. You are controlled by others. There is no problem with traditional industries. The Mercedes-Benz car I bought is mine. The things you buy now are yours, but the control is not necessarily in your hands. This is different. Therefore, network security and informatization must be promoted simultaneously, unlike traditional industries where money is enough.

Increase R&D efforts and market-oriented guidance for core technologies

President Xi recently said at a forum of the central security departments that we should increase the research and development of core technologies and market-oriented guidance. It is useless if the core technology is developed but not industrialized. This market is often monopolistic, and the market should be allowed to develop in a healthy way. If you don't give it proper guidance, you can't enter the monopoly market, and the research and development is for show, which is useless and will soon fall behind.

We know that the law of software is that 3.0 is easy to use, 1.0 is useless. If we want to reach 3.0, we must let it be used, let the people use it. The people should use what is easy to use and cheap. The government should provide guidance, and market-oriented guidance is very important.

People say that it is not that China does not have money or people, but the most important thing is that there is no guarantee that anyone will use it. I can guarantee that it will be available in two or three years. What can't China do? Take Beidou Internet and information technology as an example. There are many things that can be made in space and space. What we want to do has not been made yet. It is not the same as being able to make something if you can buy it. The Internet and information technology that China wants to do has not been made yet.

I will not talk about the monopoly, especially in the field of Internet of Things, we have done research. In the field of smart terminals, we have a high degree of monopoly in intermediate and mobile terminals. I said there are 10 billion smart terminals in the world, and the Internet of Things terminals cannot be counted in them. I said it is less than 10 billion now, but it will reach 10 billion soon. The 10 billion terminals are monopolized by three companies. There is no such monopoly in the world. There are two or more companies that manufacture large aircraft, Airbus, and at most a few hundred thousand. We have a monopoly of three companies on 10 billion terminals. Such a monopoly is difficult to achieve.

So why do we need proper guidance? We are in this monopoly field. We have not studied the ecology, core technology and architecture of the Internet of Things. The operating system has formed an industrial chain, and the basic system is Windows, Android or IOS. The difficulty lies in building a good technical system and ecosystem. This is not something that can be done overnight. Everyone knows that Windows is a well-known leader, but it was a step behind in the mobile era. It is hard to say whether Windows can rise now.

I hope that China's government procurement will be supported and market-oriented guidance will be increased without violating WTO principles. Government guidance is very important. Our market is much more open than that of the United States. China is basically very open now.

In particular, recently everyone has seen in the newspapers why Windows 10 is not included in the government procurement project. The central government has clearly indicated that it is a security issue and cannot be controlled. Everyone knows that if a device or a monitoring head can see that if you use Windows 10, your data is too easy for others to control. Everyone knows the reason I just said. This is a very simple reason. We held a seminar. These four companies have more than several million. They will have very deep work. This is very easy. They don’t show you the code, and you don’t understand it. You say that I used it and it’s safe. Isn’t this a joke? This is a problem that does not look at the essence at all.

The struggle around Windows 10 government version. Windows 10 entering the Chinese market is not feasible. The market is 100% gone. China has very capable operating system people. Our software engineers can support hundreds of them. But if there is no market, it is impossible to succeed. If China does not seize the opportunity, China will not have a chance to develop terminal systems. This is a very important issue. It is a question of whether China needs core technology.

Everyone can go and see how to do it on October 20, 2013. It has been written clearly.

Information security and network security should be carried out simultaneously

If we don’t use Windows 10 and Intel’s new CPU, what should we use? The term “new CPU” is understandable, but now we see that domestic products such as Loongson and Feiteng are bundled with our computers. We provide some user experience, which is basically equivalent to the best text three to five years ago, and is not worse than them. The development in the past two years has been very fast. According to the conclusion of the Ministry of Public Security, it has basically reached usability, but it cannot be said to be easy to use. After all, they are three to five years ahead, but we are catching up very quickly. The speed of our catching up is very fast. It is not that it cannot be used. It was still usable three years ago. Our new domestic products are equivalent to the level of three years ago. How can they not be used? Many people are talking nonsense. You have not used it, so how can you say it cannot be used?

Basically, our view is that this time we must use computers composed of domestic CPUs and domestic operating systems. In the past, security assessments were based on three principles: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Now, we have added two principles to network security. Can we add controllability? It is very important. If you don’t have the controllability of a car, it is useless to buy it. If you don’t have the control, you don’t know who is dealing with it. And when someone comes, you have to identify whether the information is available or not. This is very important. In the future, you still don’t know who you are dealing with.

We hope that the government or some important departments should carry out procurement or informatization at the same time, for example, attach great importance to information security and network security. We advocate five aspects of evaluation standards. Of course, I think intellectual property rights, technical capabilities, development initiative, supply chain and qualifications are indispensable. We should strengthen procurement and informatization construction. We have large projects worth tens of billions of yuan, and there should be an evaluation. The evaluation is very simple, and everyone can compare it. For example, if the intellectual property rights are not obtained, a fine will be imposed for using this thing. It is not a security issue. If there is a problem, it is a bigger political issue. The fine alone is enough for you to bear.

ZTE's independent intellectual property rights are not enough. Security issues make the new network field an exception. Some important fields may be 100%. A camera or a device may become a channel to control the entire system. We hope that in the future, when purchasing some important things, the project will include the application of science and technology and high technology. Do you know whether the product is useful? Who is it made for? There must be a very clear analysis.

Today I will share these with you. They may not be correct, but I hope that you can better develop new and emerging fields of the Internet of Things and implement the message that core technologies are not controlled by others. I hope that China can develop faster from running side by side to leading. Thank you!