(AsianFin)—The controversy over Nongfu Spring allegedlly "worshiping foreign things" is morphing into a farce. It's unbelievable that this is happening after about forty years of reform and opening up in China.

After the passing of Chinese beverage giant Wahaha Group’s founder Zong Qinghou on February 25, its rival Nongfu Spring is embattled by negative news. Some netizens have raised concerns about the packaging of Nongfu Spring's products, claiming that the design contains "Japanese elements" such as Fukushima and the Yasukuni Shrine. Additionally, revelations about Zhong Shanshan's son being a U.S. citizen have fueled suspicions on Nongfu Spring's alleged inclination towards foreign influences. These findings have prompted some netizens to boycott Nongfu Spring. Meanwhile, the stock price of Nongfu Spring plunged for a few days in early March.

We should nurture the growth of Chinese brands. However, their competitiveness depends on product functions, brand strength, marketing prowess, and even technological and innovative capabilities—not on "nationalistic protectionism." We hope more Chinese chic brands can compete internationally. Things that are national are also global, and for our domestic brands to have a significant presence globally, the key is to build normal and modern enterprises.

The hallmarks of modern enterprises include modern management and governance structures. adhering to contractual laws, rather than behaving like "nationalistic giant infants" hidden behind a cultural identity. Some adults in China are still infants in terms of their minds

I deeply respect the recently deceased Mr. Zong Qinghou. His passing is a major loss to the Chinese business community. He was one of the most esteemed first-generation private entrepreneurs after China's reform and opening up. However, the trademark dispute between Wahaha and Danone boils down to a contractual dispute between two commercial entities. The ruling made a Chinese court affirmed Wahaha’s rights to the trademark. A dispute arose from a trademark usage contract. It was a competition agreement and a legal issue. It is about contractual spirit, and economic problems, and it should not have been a matter of nationalism.

The problems we've encountered were inevitable and costs we paid during our transformation from a fledgling enterprise in the early years of reform and opening up to an established modern business. It is worth our reflection. If we still cannot recognize this even to this day, we must ask ourselves: What have we really changed during the four-decade reform and opening up?

The world is undergoing another major transformation driven by the tidal wave of a new technological revolution. I often say that this AI revolution has an immense impact, comparable to the first three industrial revolutions and even more significant than the previous wave of the internet revolution for us in terms of development opportunities.

Our opportunities lie beyond China, they are global. We need to look outward and benchmark ourselves against the world's leading companies, whether they are consumer goods or technology companies. The world's best companies has one thing in common: that is their dedication to creating value for all of humanity, not just their own nation.

Yet, the crux of the current debate still revolves around whether a domestic beverage brand should use Japanese design elements or Japanese raw materials. Will the mounting public uproar create good products? Can anger alone elevate Chinese brands onto the world stage and make the nation proud?

Consider a comparison: In 2013, Xiaomi's valuation was $45 billion, and Nvidia's market value was just over $9 billion. At that time, Lei Jun could casually invite Nvidia's founder, Jensen Huang, to participate in Xiaomi's product launches because Xiaomi was an important client for Nvidia. However, after a decade, Xiaomi's market value is still $45 billion, while Nvidia's market value has skyrockted to $2.3 trillion.

In the past, it took at least ten to twenty years for a revolution to go from the lab to the factory and the general economy. However, the impact of this technological revolution on the economy is exceeding our expectations.

I would like to point out another mind-blowing data. Recently, a renowned American institution's research report concluded that the fusion of disruptive AI technologies will define the next decade's global development. AI, public blockchain, multiomic sequencing, energy storage, and robotics—these five major technological platforms are converging, reshaping global economic activities, and economic growth rates could accelerate from an average of 3% annually over the past 125 years to 7% in the coming seven years.

What does a global annual average growth rate of 7% mean? Last year, China's economic growth rate of around 5% outperformed 90% of countries in the world. With a future global economic average growth rate of 7%, it is not hard to image the huge pressure on China.

The report also predicts that by 2030, the total capitalization of listed technology companies will grow from about $19 trillion in 2023 to approximately $220 trillion.

What does it mean? Today, Nvidia's stock price surge alone has left the world astonished. In the next ten years, the world may witness at least ten Nvidia-like companies in terms of growth rate and size.

So, isn't it absurd that we are still preoccupied with which domestic beverage brand has a more pronounced "nationalistic color"?

If we still cannot recognize the changes unfolding in this era, we will undoubtedly miss out on it.