Tencent CEO Pony Ma says China risks falling behind without strong base in scientific research

Ma stressed that China should pay more attention to core scientific research and not only the quick development of applications.

Pony Ma Huateng, chairman and chief executive of Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, has emphasised the importance of basic scientific research in microchips, operating systems, artificial intelligence, and especially quantum computing, saying that China may lose out to other countries without these core technology achievements.

“We are not weak in AI, but when it comes to quantum computing, will we be able to grab the opportunity?” Ma said while speaking at the Big Data Expo in Guiyang, the capital of southwestern Guizhou province, where Tencent stores much of its data on servers located in underground mountain sites.