**10,000 Fans Incentive Plan In a heated debate a few years ago, Zong Qinghou and Ma Yun had a debate about the "virtual and real economy".
It was a turbulent period, the manufacturing industry was facing a cold winter, the future of the real economy was uncertain, and a new economic form was emerging. In this debate, the two business giants have different views on the future direction of the economy.
In CCTV's "Dialogue" column, Zong Qinghou questioned the five major changes proposed by Ma Yun, namely "new retail, new manufacturing, new finance, new technology and new resources". Except for new technology, he said, everything else is "nonsense." Zong Qinghou believes that Ma Yun is not a practitioner of the real economy, so his understanding of the real economy may be limited. He emphasized that new technology is the direction pursued by the real economy, which can help the manufacturing industry move from low-end to high-end.
Subsequently, at an important meeting in Zhejiang Province, although Zong Qinghou and Ma Yun were on the same field, they did not go head-to-head. Zong Qinghou said in an interview that he has a good relationship with Jack Ma and does not oppose the real economy and the Internet. He explained that when he heard about Ma Yun's five new changes in the "Dialogue" program, he felt that these "new terms" were a bit foolish, so he blurted out his dissatisfaction.
The debate over the virtual economy didn't last long. A month later, Zong Qinghou and Ma Yun shook hands in public, and the controversy came to an end. At an event in March 2017, Zong Qinghou again responded to the controversy. He said that he is not against the Internet and new technologies, but he does not want people to use new terms to fool people. He stressed that the real economy and the Internet economy are not opposites, but should be integrated with each other to jointly promote economic development.
Although the debate on the virtual and real economy has come to an end, it leaves people with food for thought is far from over. Under the new economic situation, how to integrate and coexist with the real economy and the virtual economy, and how to grasp the development opportunities of new technologies, are issues that every entrepreneur needs to think deeply. The controversy between Zong Qinghou and Ma Yun may become an entry point for us to think about these issues.