【Text by Observer Net, Qi Qian】

"We in Europe must not let the US and China decide the future of technology alone."

On October 29 local time, German Chancellor Merkel opened her speech with this statement, announcing the official launch of the "German High-Tech Agenda" in Berlin.

According to a message from the German Chancellery website, Merkel emphasized in her speech the anxiety of Germany and Europe in the field of technological sovereignty.

She cited analyses from three Nobel laureates, pointing out that self-innovation, technological innovation, and sustainable growth based on innovation are crucial for Europe and Germany, partly because "other countries in the world have done better than us."

Merkel admitted that for many years, Germany has not fully realized its potential in innovation, especially in growth. She said that although Germany retains competitive industries and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as excellence in many research areas, it has an efficient and internationally recognized scientific system, but there is significant room for improvement in converting research results into products and services, especially in creating value through new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

"If we cannot quickly close this gap, it will threaten our national prosperity in the medium to long term," Merkel said, "More seriously, it will endanger the safe and free life we have taken for granted in Germany and Europe for decades, which may be the best life we have ever had."

She further warned that Germany is in an era of dramatic changes in the center of global political and economic power, "We feel unilateral dependence every day and see these dependencies being used for power struggles and our own vulnerabilities."

She emphasized that in this context, Germany and Europe need to maintain and further consolidate technological sovereignty.

Merkel announced the launch of the "German High-Tech Agenda" in Berlin, screenshot from video

Merkel stated that innovation policy is the highest priority of this federal government, and is currently institutionalizing innovation policy through measures such as establishing the Ministry of Digitalization and National Modernization. The government will focus resources on six key technologies: artificial intelligence, quantum technology, microelectronics, biotechnology, nuclear fusion and climate-neutral energy production, as well as climate-neutral transportation technology.

According to her, Germany has set a target: by 2030, at least 3.5% of GDP will be invested in the economy, research, and development. In addition, the government plans to attract more chip, equipment, and raw material production plants to Germany and expand existing capacity.

Merkel emphasized that the government should strengthen cooperation between the business and research sectors, and Germany should also strengthen cooperation with European countries. She said that Europe no longer has cognitive issues, whether it's excessive regulation, technological sovereignty, or the necessity of new resource trade partnerships; but Europe has implementation issues, so they need to solve them through coordinated actions and decisive joint decisions within the EU.

She mentioned that last week, she submitted a letter signed by 20 EU member states to the European Council. The letter, based on the "Draghi Report," clearly called for systematically reshaping European regulatory practices according to the "review, reduce, limit" principles.

Merkel reiterated at the end: "We cannot let the US and China take control of the future of technology alone. It concerns our prosperity, security, and freedom."

Last September, the EU released the "Dijira Report" focusing on high-tech development

In fact, Merkel's speech is not new. European countries have long been aware of their technological gap with China and the United States.

Last September, the European Commission officially launched a bid to establish an AI factory to enhance AI competitiveness. At the same time, the EU released the "Draghi Report" aimed at improving competitiveness. von der Leyen then said that Europe must strive to become a global leader in AI innovation.

According to a report by the Financial Times on October 5, the recent competition between China and the US has caused deep anxiety in the EU. After the Trump administration took office, the EU urgently wanted to change the current AI development status of "relying on the US, not as good as China". Currently, the EU is preparing to launch a new plan aimed at promoting local AI platforms and reducing dependence on foreign suppliers, to compete with China and the US in the global revolutionary technology race.

A draft proposal seen by the Financial Times shows that the European Commission's proposed "AI application strategy" will promote European AI tools to provide "security and resilience", while enhancing the industrial competitiveness of the EU.

However, Huang Renxun, CEO of chip giant NVIDIA, said last October that the EU is far behind the US and China in AI investment and must accelerate the development of artificial intelligence. Each country has realized that data is a national resource.

In September this year, Deutsche Bank released a research report stating that Europe is struggling to narrow the innovation gap with China and the US. The report showed that the follow-up implementation of the "Draghi Report" was disappointing. As of September 4, only 11.2% of the recommendations had been fully implemented. Even when partially implemented content is considered, the progress of the agenda is less than one-third.

This article is an exclusive article by Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566810175684887082/

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