China and the United States could collaborate on a host of high-tech projects that are mutually beneficial

China and the US need common ground. How to find this magic land? (Finding grounds of contention, even of confrontation, is sadly not hard.) Sure, there is thwarting terrorism, avoiding financial crises, containing global warming, preventing infectious diseases, interdicting drug trafficking and fighting organized crime. Important, but these deeds are good because they proscribe bad things. What about good deeds that promote good things?

Hundreds of achievements of the National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program) were introduced at the 16th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo lasting from May 21 to 26. [Photo by Michael Thai]

Our best bet is on technology, where benefits are synergistic, not zero-sum; accretive, not depletive; multiplicative, not (necessarily) competitive. With technology, the more you use it, the more you have it. Green technologies and alternative energy are exemplars. A priority, I suggest, should be information technology because IT enhances all aspects of contemporary society and improves multiple facets of human lives.

Recently I helped catalyze an annual China-US "summit", called IT 2020, on the future of cloud computing and big data analytics, in which computer and IT scientists from China and the US met in candid and collegial engagement (www.it2020.net). Co-hosted by the Chinese Academy of Engineering and EMC Corporation, and held at CAE headquarters in Beijing, IT 2020 focuses on the opportunities and challenges of establishing robust and trustworthy cloud computing and of developing paradigm-shifting applications in big data.

The Chinese Academy of Engineering is comprised of elected members; to be a CAE "member" (also called "academician") is to hold the highest honor in China's engineering and technology communities. CAE promotes scientific excellence and supports policy decision-making of the nation's leaders by conducting strategic studies and providing consultancy on all matters of engineering and technology. EMC Corporation and its federated companies are global leaders in cloud computing (VMware), big data (Pivotal), Internet trust/security (RSA), and data storage (EMC).

The worldwide revolution brought about by IT is accelerating, changing familiar patterns. Mobile technology, social networking platforms, and various new-generation applications are melding, thus transforming the way information is used. But the IT revolution cannot just "happen". It requires advanced technology platforms, including systematic structuring and integration, new hardware design, novel operating systems, industry-specific applications, and the like. It also requires fresh guidelines to handle big data analytics, diversified businesses, creative technologies, society and government implementation, and data robustness, protection and privacy.