Sequoia Capital China founder urges Beijing to invest in tech to fight climate change and build digital infrastructure
- In his proposal ahead of the ‘two sessions’, Neil Shen said China should invest in ‘deep technology’ to achieve carbon neutrality and other high-priority goals
- Shen is the only venture capital delegate in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which convened on Friday
Shen, a Yale-educated billionaire investor who is referred to as the “No 1 brother” of the investment industry, said in his proposal that breakthroughs in “basic sciences” are key to achieving carbon neutrality, and the Chinese government should set up a state-backed low-carbon fund and encourage green investing.
The government should also step up development of neuroscience, Shen suggested, to cope with China’s rapidly ageing population. He called for the government to support frontier technologies to develop health monitoring products and wearable devices that could help combat brain disease.
To upgrade the manufacturing sector, Shen suggested using cloud computing and the Internet of Things.
Shen is the only venture capital delegate in the CPPCC, which started its annual meeting on Friday. The National People’s Congress, the other half of the two sessions, will convene on Saturday.
Shen’s proposals – which include suggestions for accelerating the development of new medicines to build a better presence in the international market and developing agricultural tech to boost productivity – are seen as advice aimed at supporting China’s national strategic goals.
