'I’m just … serving as a matchmaker here...' Obama helps Jack Ma and Philippine entrepreneur Aisa Mijeno find common ground at Apec summit
Two leaders find common ground with inventor Aisa Mijeno at Apec CEO summit
US President Barack Obama helped Alibaba’s Jack Ma Yun and Filipina entrepreneur Aisa Mijeno find common ground on sustainable living at the Apec CEO forum in Manila on Wednesday.
The meeting drew together about 1,300 delegates from governments and business leaders for two days of talks and speeches that wrapped up yesterday.
Obama told the audience that no nation was immune to the consequences of climate change, especially in the Asia-Pacific with its many low-lying islands.
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Without a concerted effort to curb emissions, businesses would see their revenue streams drop amid economic disruptions and lower agricultural yields, he said.
Ma said taxes should be lowered or reduced for entrepreneurs like Mijeno, an engineer who co-founded SALt, a company that produces a lamp powered by saltwater that can be used by people in areas without access to electricity. The lamps can also charge phones.
Obama responded by saying the government had a role to play in providing tax incentives and early-phase subsidies to encourage the production of clean energy.
Mijeno said companies like hers needed support from both the government and private sector, with Ma promising to invest in clean technology.
In an earlier address to the summit, Ma called for a “third world war” against poverty, climate change and disease by empowering the “small guys” who had not benefitted enough from the global trade structure.
Trade is a freedom, trade is a human right
“Trade is a freedom, trade is a human right,” Ma said. “Trade should not be used as a tool against other nations.”
Ma called for an “e-WTO” or “WTO 2.0” based on commerce conducted on the internet. He said it should benefit poorer nations as well as developed ones, and small companies in addition to market leaders.
Treaties should be negotiated by businesspeople, not governments with competing agendas who were willing to let talks to descend into protracted arguments as they had with the Doha round of talks.
Obama also said the government had a key role to play in funding basic research development, as corporate R&D was more often concerned with the commercialisation of technology.
