Mehreen Gul
Director Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad and Euroasian Expert
The fight against the epidemic cannot be achieved without the support of science and technology,” Chinese President Xi stressed- Xinhua. He also added that China should speed up clinical research for vaccines and antiviral drugs, as well as expand online shopping options for the tens of millions of people who are staying indoors to prevent the disease’s spread. The world still face a lot of uncertainty about how the COVID19 outbreak situation will evolve in the coming times, but what is certain, is that the overwhelming corporate response in China to join the international fight against this outbreak.
Chinese tech companies can be very responsive and versatile, and here are the ways how Chinese tech corporations are taking action to counter COVID19.
“So far WHO has received applications for review and approval of 40 diagnostic tests, 20 vaccines are in development and many clinical trials of therapeutics are underway,” Dr Tedros told journalists in a Q&A session following his announcements
The WHO is working with the World Economic Forum to engage companies in coming up with workable solutions. Dr Tedros said: “Earlier this week “said I spoke to more than 200 CEOs about how they can protect their staff and customers, ensure business continuity and contribute to the response.”(world Economic Forum)
Not to stop supply chains
It is critical in a crisis to ensure there is enough supply of materials including surgical masks, disinfectant, protective suits and safety goggles for the front-line medical workers.
Alibaba, Baidu, Bank of China, ByteDance, China Construction Bank, China COSCO Shipping Corporation, China Merchants Group, Envision Energy, Fosun Group, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, JD.com, Mengniu, Ping An, SinoChem, Sinopec, Tai Kang Insurance, Tencent, Xiaomi, Yili and others have donated large volumes of healthcare, food, and other supplies to the affected areas. Manufacturers including BYD, Foxconn, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. and SAIC-GM-Wuling are setting up provisional assembly lines to catch with the additional masks and disinfectants and other necessities.
Alibaba’s grocery chain HEMA (Freshippo) committed not to increase prices and remaining stocked with necessary supplies and upholding the policy of remaining open for business. “Green Channel” (an initiative that expedites fast and safe delivery of medical supplies from around the world to the affected areas) formed by the collaboration of Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, and a dozen logistics partners for fast delivery.
In addition, Dongfeng-Xiaokang donated vehicles to facilitate the transport of supplies in Wuhan, and JD Logistics deployed autonomous ground robots for last-mile delivery of supplies in Wuhan hospitals. Express delivery and errand-running service platforms including 58.com and SF Express are also playing a role in delivering essential supplies to Wuhan residents.
Boosting infrastructures of hospitals
Two extraordinary examples of speed and efficiency include the construction of the 1000-bed Huoshenshan Hospital and the 1600-bed Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, both built in less than 10 days.
State Grid Corporation of China-made significant efforts to guarantee the power supply to key facilitates and Far East Smarter Energy Co. Ltd worked to lay network cables for the newly built hospitals. Huawei and China Telecom jointly set up a 5G-enabled remote video diagnostic center, which enables medical staff to conduct remote online consultations.
Combating misinformation.
Many companies are contributing new tools to share reliable information and counter the myths, fake news, rumors, and misinformation, as these can travel faster than any pathogen.
Baidu created a map layer on top of the standard Baidu Map App that shows real-time locations of confirmed and suspected cases of the virus so that people can avoid more-affected areas.
Qihoo 360 launched a platform where travelers can check if anyone on their recent train or plane trips has since tested positive so that they can take appropriate self-quarantine measures or visit the hospital if symptoms appear.
To provide reliable medical information, Tencent “Medipedia,” a healthcare encyclopedia, has included new entries on the relevant symptoms, medical treatment and preventive measures, which are edited and reviewed by renowned medical experts. Tencent also launched an out-patient clinic map to allow users to look for the nearest clinics and “JiaoZhen” a myth-busting platform that helps users discern fact from myth.
In order to make access to good care even more readily available, Ping An’s “AskBob,” a doctor’s AI assistant, now offers a one-stop portal for virus-related updates and advice. In addition, JD Health, Ping An “Good Doctor,” UnionPay’s “YunShanFu” and others have launched free online health consultation services.
Providing virtual education
The outbreak has turned China into a dynamometer for work and education – virtually. To minimize the impact of school delays, online education platforms such as Liulishuo, Onion Academy and Zuoyebang are offering free online classes to school students nationwide. Both Alibaba’s DingTalk and Tencent Education have launched online classrooms, enabling teachers and professors to conduct online courses from home.
5. Minimizing the impact on unemployment via virtual technology
Millions of employees are now using tools including Alibaba’s “DingTalk,” Tencent’s “WeChat Work” and “Meeting,” ByteDance’s “Feishu” and Huawei’s “WeLink” for online workplace collaboration. In addition, ByteDance has offered free use of the commercial version of “Feishu” for three years for all SMEs, street communities, NGOs, hospitals, and medical institutions. Alibaba and JD.com launched a talent-sharing plan to hire short-term staff from temporarily affected sectors, for flexible job openings in e-commerce and supermarkets. Alibaba, Meituan-Dianping, and Pinduoduo are offering merchants and couriers subsidies and low-interest loans to mitigate short-term risks and damage, in order to support SMEs.
Technology solutions to
fast-track medical responses
Many businesses are developing and sharing their tech tools to support readiness and response for COVID-19 outbreak and future epidemics.
Alibaba Cloud has offered AI computing capabilities to public research institutions for free to support virus gene sequencing, new drug R&D and protein screenings. Baidu has opened up LinearFold, its RNA prediction algorithm, to genetic testing agencies, epidemic prevention centers and research institutes around the world. Neusoft Medical donated high-end CT scanners, AI medical imaging, cloud platform and remote advanced post-processing software to hospitals in Wuhan.
Infervision launched a “COV19 AI solution,” an AI software for front-line clinicians to detect and monitor the disease on CT scans. National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China has significantly simplified procedures for the approval of testing kits and gene-sequencing systems, so as to expand the supply capacity of virus detection products and accelerate the testing processes. BGI has also scaled up the production of its testing kits and donated them to Wuhan and established the Huoyan Laboratory, an emergency test laboratory that aims to speed up the testing of cases.
Alibaba’s new AI system can detect coronavirus in seconds with 96% accuracy
Researching cures and
eliminating human contact
Last month, Tencent’s TCEHY opened up its supercomputing facilities, which include machines that can run calculations much faster than an ordinary PC, to help researchers racing to find a cure.
Didi, China’s biggest ride-hailing provider has teamed up with medical and aid organizations to allow workers who need to perform tasks related to data analysis, online simulation or logistical support to use Didi’s servers for free.
Others are deploying robots to eliminate human-to-human contact. Chinese tech companies can be very responsive and versatile.
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com meanwhile, recently enlisted self-driving robots to bring goods to medical workers in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus originated. The bots, which look and run much like pint-sized vehicles, have been delivering packages to a hospital that primarily treats coronavirus patients. The route is relatively short, about 600 meters to the hospital, but cutting humans out of the equation has helped protect customers and employees, said Qi Kong, head of autonomous driving at JD Logistics.
Shanghai TMIRob, is sending dozens of robots inside hospitals throughout Wuhan, according to Chinese state media. There, they are spraying disinfectant in isolation wards, intensive care units, and operating rooms.
Drones have also been put to use during the outbreak. The technology allows authorities to scan through large crowds and spot if someone’s in need of medical attention, according to MicroMultiCopter, a drone startup, dispatched about 100 of the devices across the country. They’ve also sent nearly 200 employees to command centers where they can monitor what the drones are seeing in real time.
Way forward
China’s tech giants have responded to the outbreak by deploying autonomous vehicles to bring supplies to medical workers, fitting drones with thermal cameras to improve the detection of the virus and lending their computing power to help develop a vaccine.
Beijing is pushing its tech companies to join the fight against the novel coronavirus. The Chinese government has long stressed technological innovation as an important pillar of growth. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology on Thursday called on the tech sector for help, suggesting that robots, temperature screening machines, and devices that can help reduce human contact should be deployed.
While it’s important to consider the short-term benefits of these technological solutions, some efforts, such as companies launching fever detection systems with AI and thermal-imaging technology in major railway stations, also raise questions about long-term governance of these technologies.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2020, the interrelatedness of our global business supply chains has made the world more susceptible to societal and economic disturbance from local infectious-disease outbreaks. This epidemic will not be the last. Even as we fight this “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” (PHEIC), we must build on these examples to prepare for the risk and impact of a global pandemic.
