Why the Slackening of Globalization Should Concern Everyone

During our technology events, we usually talk tech. Speakers are expected to elaborate on cloud computing, the opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI), or the advantages of gaining deeper insights into a firm’s data pool. It is, of course, important to explain technology and paint a picture of the next innovations we may see. Nevertheless, I chose to do otherwise in this year’s keynote speech at SAP Labs China dcom Shanghai, our largest corporate in-house event in China in the past four years. Instead, I raised a question: is globalization an opportunity or a threat to the world?

Naturally, colleagues asked me beforehand why I intended to talk about globalization at a tech event. First, SAP’s global dcom is a real celebration of a diverse, global world and a testimony to the benefits of globalization. I truly believe we should be thankful to again have such in-person events as SAP Labs China dcom Shanghai, a celebration of SAP’s engineering spirit, the largest internal SAP event in China, and the first physical dcom in China in three years. Second, when people from different locations meet again to exchange ideas, gain knowledge, and enhance connections, good things happen. So, why not celebrate globalization at an technology event where we talk about technologies that connect businesses and make the world run better? Finally, I believe that everyone must understand that we cannot take for granted the experience of our world and economies up to 2020, a period marked by continuing globalization that created global opportunities for countless people and raised the living standards of billions.

These thoughts were triggered by a report from the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) that indicates that globalization is in retreat for the first time since the Second World War. The PIIE’s globalization index represents the ratio of world imports and exports to world gross domestic product (GDP), and, according to their data, its openness index fell to 57.2% in 2021 from 60.1% before (Globalization is in retreat for the first time since the Second World War | PIIE). The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have altered the landscape, and such shocks are not easily absorbed by any economy. If this trend does not reverse, we should all be concerned. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the world’s globalization raised 1 billion people out of poverty, and World Bank data indicate that over 800 million people were lifted out of poverty in China alone from 1990 through 2015, years that followed China’s opening to global economies and during which it joined the World Trade Organization (2001). In addition, many scholars argue that a more interconnected world fosters interdependence, creating a more connected and even more peaceful global society.

In my personal experience of the past three years, I am delighted and grateful to have had the opportunity to exceptionally travel and meet people face to face despite the pandemic’s many travel restrictions. This allowed me to explain what is happening in China, the place I live, to people in other parts of the world and bring back the latest impressions from around the world to my colleagues in China. I fully recognize the limited impact of my efforts, but they nevertheless brought us closer together. It felt a bit like being an ambassador for globalization between countries.

This world has too many conflicts, but globalization retains the potential to create more jobs, lift more people out of poverty, and increase the wealth of nations, which provides capital that can be spent again to improve the living conditions of their citizens. The numbers that PIIE published should be a wake-up call for all of us. We must not simply shrug and accept a slow but steady reduction of our global, diverse world but rather work together toward re-globalization for an inclusive world!?

#globalization #reglobalization #innovation #economy #opportunity

(Disclaimer: The ideas, views, and opinions expressed in my LinkedIn posts and profiles represent my own views and not those of current or previous employers or organizations with which I am associated. Also, any and all comments on my posts from respondents/commenters belong to, and only to, those who post them.)