Urbantech industrial policies take shape in Asia

Japan, China, and South Korea are all beefing up programs and policies aimed at developing domestic markets for smart city technology, with an eye towards global markets. Southeast Asia is fast emerging as a key battleground in this regional struggle for urbantech dominance. Japan officials, for instance, are undertaking a market survey of 26 cities in 10 ASEAN countries. And China continues to push firms to aggressively expand overseas. US pressure that is making it more difficult to penetrate markets in Africa and South America reinforces the need for Chinese firms to dominate this key sphere of influence. Singapore is also in the fray, as the founder of a network of ASEAN smart cities.

This points towards a future where in Asia, and beyond, smart cities and urbantech become an ever-more important part of industrial policy. And because of deep concerns about the cybersecurity implications of trade in such systems and services, it will become an instrument of geopolitical power projects and increasingly contentions in multiple spheres of global affairs.