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Asian Center of Development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies
 
PIIS086919080009725-4-1
DOI10.31857/S086919080009725-4
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Alexander V. Akimov 
Occupation: Head of Department
Affiliation: Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Moscow, Moscow, Russia
Nina N. Tsvetkova
Occupation: Leading Research Fellow
Affiliation: Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS, Institute of Asian and African Countries, Moscow Lomonosov University
Address: Russian Federation
Journal nameVostok. Afro-Aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost
EditionIssue 3
Pages108-121
Abstract

For the first time since the First industrial revolution of the 18th century, Asian countries have become leaders in the technology race of the Fourth industrial revolution. This article analyzes main areas, in which Asian countries have emerged as leaders.

Several Asian countries have become leading exporters of computer and telecommunications equipment. Exporting digital equipment they enable digital transformation of other Asian and African countries. Powerful TNCs have emerged in the ICT sphere of these countries.

Within a short period of development of the Fourth industrial revolution, in the East Asia (Japan, China, the Republic of Korea), a center of industrial robots manufacturing and of robotics use has been established, these countries being ahead of both the USA and Western Europe. Such a significant technological leadership of a large group of Asian countries, both in terms of production indicators and the volume of production and use of new equipment, has been observed for the first time in the entire era of industrial development. Even with a much cheaper labour force than in developed countries, China has chosen the path of robotics development in industry with the risk of losing a large number of jobs.

Since the 1990s outsourcing and offshoring of IT services and business process outsourcing (BPO) have been rapidly developing in India; other Asian and African countries also develop this sector. At present, the sector of IT services and BPO outsourcing faces challenges of robotics and automation, with the risks of loss of jobs. However, the development of digital economy in Asian and African countries also offers new opportunities generating internal demand for these services. 

Prospects of socioeconomic development of Asian countries in the context of the Fourth industrial revolution are analyzed. The shift in productive forces is destroying the catch-up model of developing countries as developed countries due to automation lose interest in their cheap labor. Capital and qualified labor in the production and maintenance of new equipment become the major productive forces, reducing the role of natural resources and of large masses of workers with medium and low qualification.

There is a risk that the world will disintegrate into a developed one and underdeveloped one by technological criteria, and it will be extremely difficult for the latter to break through into the category of developed. A new caste system can be formed, dividing the society into those who are able to develop or at least support new productive forces and all the others who are not needed for this.

KeywordsAsian countries, the Fourth industrial revolution, robotics, automation, computer and telecommunications equipment, IT services and business process outsourcing, TNCs, employment, prospects of socioeconomic development
Received17.05.2020
Publication date22.06.2020
Number of characters37464
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Table of contents

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING
INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS
IT SERVICES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
ROLE OF HUMANS IN PRODUCTION IS CHANGING
1 K. Schwab who can be called one of the main ideologists of the Fourth industrial revolution, in his book “Technologies of the Fourth industrial revolution”, describes the prospects of new technologies and the actions the society should take to obtain positive results from their development:
2 “The Fourth industrial revolution offers hope for the continuation of the human development process, which has already led to a dramatic improvement in the quality of life for billions of people since 1800.
3 – To achieve this, numerous stakeholders must work together to attain three main objectives: to share equitably the benefits of technological breakthroughs, to limit their inevitable negative effects, and to ensure that new technologies will expand rather than limit the opportunities for all inhabitants of the Earth.
4 – The technologies, on which the Fourth industrial revolution is based, are interconnected in many ways: in the way they extend digital opportunities; in the way they are scaled, developed and integrated into our lives; in the way they complement each other; and in their ability to concentrate privileges and challenge existing management systems.
5 In order to take full advantage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we should consider advanced technologies neither as simple tools that are completely under our control, nor as external forces that cannot be controlled. Instead, we should try to understand how and where human values could be embedded in new technologies and how technologies can be applied for the common good, for the protection of environment and human rights.
6 – All interested groups should engage in a global dialogue on how the Fourth industrial revolution technologies are changing the systems around us and affecting the lives of every person on the planet. In particular, the three groups that are often omitted in discussions related to advanced technologies management and their role should be better represented: developing countries, environment protection organizations, and citizens of all the population groups by income, age and education.
7 К. Schwab is in general optimistic about the prospects for new technologies, he highlights their potential, but also calls for dialogue in order to respond to possible challenges [Schwab, Davis, 2018, p. 13–14].
8

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING
9 The widespread use of computer technologies began only in the 1990s, it was often referred to as the Information and Communication Revolution (ICR). But Western and Japanese TNCs began to create subsidiaries manufacturing electronic devices in countries with cheap labor force, in developing countries of Asia in the first place, in the 1970s.
10 The results of the process of relocation of electronics manufacturing can be judged by the fact that by 1995, Asian developing countries1 accounted for 47.5% of world television sets exports, 64.4% of world radio exports, and 45.1% of recorders exports. In addition, in 1995, Asian developing countries accounted for 28.6% of exports of telecommunications equipment and components (in 1995 it was quite different from the present day telecommunications equipment), 31.4% of exports of computer equipment (“automatic data processing equipment”) and 33.6% of exports of components for computer equipment.  The share of China in 1995 amounted to 1.7% of world computer equipment exports and 3.3% of telecommunications equipment exports. In 2015, China was the leading world exporter with 43.1% of world computer equipment exports and 38.2% of telecommunications equipment exports, practically 2/5 of world digital equipment exports (Calculations based on [Merchandise trade matrix, 2017]). 1. The authors use UNCTAD definitions, according to which in Asia only Japan and Israel are considered as developed countries while all other countries are considered as developing countries, including those with very high per capita incomes: Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong (Special Autonomous Region of China).
11 At the middle of 1990-s, developed countries were main exporters of digital equipment. But in the 1990s and the 2000s there was a large-scale relocation of computer equipment manufacturing, and later of telecommunications equipment manufacturing processes to the countries of Southeast and East Asia. American, Japanese, West-European transnationals have created their manufacturing affiliates there, but in digital equipment production they also use widely a non-equity form of international production: contract manufacturing. At present, a major part of electronic components is manufactured in Southeast and East Asia and assembly of digital equipment is performed there. The share of East Asian and Southeast Asian countries in world computer equipment exports increased from 41% to 65%, and in telecommunication equipment exports, from 18% to 72% (Figure 1, in exports of electronic components for ICT goods, from 44.3% to 78.5% between 2000 and 2015 (see Figure 2). The countries of East and South-East Asia account for the major part of exports of digital equipment, and they contribute to digital transformation of many countries. The role of China is particularly important.
12 According to WTO data, in 2017 world exports of computer and telecommunication equipment reached $1841 billion. Only 10 subjects of the world economy accounted for 91% of the exports ($1672 billion). China was the leading exporter of computer and telecommunications equipment in 2017: its share in this exports was steadily increasing: from 4.5% in 2000 to 17.7% in 2005, 27.8% in 2010 and 32.2% in 2017 (see Figure 3).

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