Ex-Singaporean diplomat lauds SZ's tech rise at Nanshan dialogue

Renowned scholar and former Singaporean ambassador to United Nations, Professor Kishore Mahbubani, applauded Shenzhen’s innovation ecosystem and technological progress during a book-sharing event at the Nanshan Global Service Center on Friday.

Professor Kishore Mahbubani speaks at the Nanshan Dialogue event at the Nanshan Global Service Center on Friday. Photos courtesy of event organizers

Titled “Nanshan Dialogue — Asia’s Future Amid a Great Upheaval,” the event was jointly organized by the Nanshan District Foreign Affairs Office and World Knowledge Publishing House. Mahbubani, who is promoting his new book “Living The Asian Century,” drew on his 33 years of diplomatic experience to reflect on regional transformation, institutional development in Singapore and China’s rise.

He traced his initial encounter with Shenzhen to 1975 when a visit to a friend in Hong Kong gave him a brief glimpse across the border of what was then a little fishing village. 

“Since 1975 I have followed Shenzhen’s development closely,” Mahbubani said. “No place in the world has grown so rapidly as Shenzhen, and what is even more astonishing is that it continues to progress at high speed. That is why the Shenzhen story is one of the world’s most remarkable development achievements.” 

Professor Mahbubani (C), Qu Bo (R), director of the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, and Huang Ping, associate director of the Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai, exchange insights at the event.

He highlighted the city’s evolution into an international metropolis and said its powerful innovation ecosystem now attracts global attention.

In the panel discussion, Mahbubani was joined by Huang Ping, associate director of the Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai, and Qu Bo, director of the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University. The trio delved into topics including the new phase of China-U.S. relations, prospects for Asian regional cooperation, and how technological change is reshaping the international order.

Mahbubani said that U.S. policies he described as a “small-courtyards, high-walls” approach have placed short-term pressure on Chinese firms, but have also accelerated China’s push for indigenous innovation. “Competition between China and the United States in technology and the economy will continue to shape global geopolitical dynamics,” he said, noting that disruptions in Europe have helped hasten a shift toward an “Asian century.”

Audience members interact with Professor Mahbubani at the event.

On regional cooperation, Mahbubani emphasized the need for Asian countries to work together in the face of geopolitical complexity, economic volatility and the opportunities and risks of a sweeping technological revolution. 

At the event’s close, Mahbubani toured the Global Service Center’s smart exhibition hall to review Nanshan high-tech firms’ overseas achievements. He viewed smart glasses, translation devices and an AI pet robot dog, remarking, “Shenzhen’s technological progress is astonishing — in many fields it is ahead of Europe and the United States.”