This is similar to how, in the past, online shoppers were mostly located in cities. As online shopping became more widespread, Pinduoduo expanded its reach to counties and rural areas.

Although consumption and manufacturing are two different sectors, they are fundamentally aligned.

Zheng Li himself certainly couldn't say that; what would an alien mage like him know about the industrial internet?

Artificial intelligence can read through all the papers on the Industrial Internet on the entire planet in less than a second.

Naturally, it can be combined with the situation in China, speaking in a way that is both down-to-earth and visionary.

After listening to this from below the stage, Li Miaomiao thought to herself, "Zheng Li actually has this kind of insight. No wonder he can impress me at such a crucial moment."

Zheng Li has brought her so many surprises since they were still in school.

Or rather, she often felt that she had never truly understood Zheng Li.

Although she could see Zheng Li every day, it seemed as if there was a vast chasm between them.

The host then stepped in and said, "Chairman Zheng's words clearly demonstrate his deep understanding of the Industrial Internet."

I could clearly discern the future development path of the industrial internet in China and even the world from Chairman Zheng's speech.

What are Mr. Musk's thoughts on the Industrial Internet?

Musk boldly declared, "I believe the Industrial Internet will completely transform the global supply chain landscape."

The global supply chain will become more specialized.

Based on the original supply chain division, the strong will become stronger.

For example, China consumes more than 90% of the world's photovoltaic production capacity and more than 90% of its steel production capacity.

Korea and Taiwan will concentrate most of the world's semiconductor production capacity.

Given this expectation, it will be extremely difficult for China to achieve a breakthrough in semiconductors.

As for the vast number of developing countries, they will face the situation where the manufacturing capacity that was relocated there will gradually return, and in the future they can only develop tourism, service industry, agriculture and mining.

As the Industrial Internet gradually replaces manual labor, the biggest comparative advantage of these developing countries—labor costs—will disappear.

Moreover, with the development of communication technology and brain-computer interface VR, land costs in the manufacturing industry will become non-existent.

For example, in factories located 50 kilometers away from the city, communication technology can achieve near-zero latency.

Senior engineers are able to work from their homes in their own cities, even if the work is dozens of kilometers away, using industrial VR.

Land costs will also disappear for Third World countries.

Not to mention that they don't have an advantage in large-scale hydropower projects.

In the future, with the large-scale development of the Industrial Internet, energy will play an increasingly important role.

Musk likes to make outrageous statements and he tends to exaggerate things.

Only in this way can he attract other people's attention and draw their focus to him.

Especially during his direct conversation with Zheng Li, if he didn't say something special, he wouldn't be Musk.

The host remarked, "That would be bad news for developing countries."

China is also a developing country.

So, what do you two think we need to do to escape this possible future?

Musk opened his eyes wide: "No, China considers itself a developing country."

In other words, China is very large, so large that some parts are developed countries, some are developing countries, and some are even underdeveloped countries.

About seven or eight years ago, Tesla was planning to build a Gigafactory in China.

When we were choosing the site, our Greater China team did a lot of field research, and I also read a lot of local research on China.

In fact, the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are no longer developing countries; their industrial chains are quite complete.

Moreover, it's not just limited to the low-to-mid-end industrial chain.

Therefore, China need not worry about this issue.

The host countered, "Didn't you just say that some regions in China are still developing or even underdeveloped?"

Musk countered, "Isn't China's economic strategy to focus on developing core urban clusters?"

You yourselves are also focusing your efforts on developing the four core urban clusters, while other areas are mainly focused on low-end, low-value-added manufacturing industries to ensure employment.

I feel this very strongly: China and the European Union are very similar, just as Eastern Europe is a source of talent, resources, and markets for Western Europe.

China is similar, as there are no tariff barriers between provinces, and natural resources are allocated centrally by the central government, which then subsidizes local areas through transfer payments.

This in itself is gradually marginalizing some places in the manufacturing landscape.

In my view, China has been doing this all along; it's just that the Industrial Internet will naturally accelerate this process in the future.

The four major urban clusters mentioned by Musk are the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region.

The most important reason why Chengdu and Chongqing need to develop is that China needs sufficient depth.

During World War II, the troops were only able to retreat to Chongqing at most. The large amount of fiscal transfer payments between Chengdu and Chongqing each year was mainly due to strategic considerations.

Musk knows China very well. He has been studying the country in depth ever since he decided to invest and build a factory in China in 2018.

Later, Tesla's Shenhai Gigafactory accounted for half of Tesla's annual global deliveries.

It can be said that it made a significant contribution to Tesla's soaring market value in those years.

Musk once tweeted: "China has a huge number of talented and hardworking people who are convinced of the value of manufacturing."

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