0:00:00.880,0:00:05.520
I want you to reimagine[br]how life is organized on earth.

0:00:06.920,0:00:10.720
Think of the planet[br]like a human body that we inhabit.

0:00:12.160,0:00:16.816
The skeleton is the transportation system[br]of roads and railways,

0:00:16.840,0:00:19.576
bridges and tunnels, air and seaports

0:00:19.600,0:00:22.816
that enable our mobility[br]across the continents.

0:00:22.840,0:00:26.096
The vascular system that powers the body

0:00:26.120,0:00:28.896
are the oil and gas pipelines[br]and electricity grids.

0:00:28.920,0:00:30.120
that distribute energy.

0:00:30.680,0:00:33.696
And the nervous system of communications

0:00:33.720,0:00:37.416
is the Internet cables,[br]satellites, cellular networks

0:00:37.440,0:00:40.600
and data centers that allow[br]us to share information.

0:00:41.480,0:00:45.856
This ever-expanding infrastructural matrix

0:00:45.880,0:00:50.896
already consists of 64 million[br]kilometers of roads,

0:00:50.920,0:00:53.736
four million kilometers of railways,

0:00:53.760,0:00:56.696
two million kilometers of pipelines

0:00:56.720,0:01:00.280
and one million kilometers[br]of Internet cables.

0:01:01.160,0:01:03.720
What about international borders?

0:01:04.959,0:01:08.520
We have less than[br]500,000 kilometers of borders.

0:01:09.680,0:01:11.880
Let's build a better map of the world.

0:01:12.720,0:01:16.160
And we can start by overcoming[br]some ancient mythology.

0:01:17.080,0:01:20.160
There's a saying with which[br]all students of history are familiar:

0:01:21.160,0:01:23.936
"Geography is destiny."

0:01:23.960,0:01:25.440
Sounds so grave, doesn't it?

0:01:26.120,0:01:27.800
It's such a fatalistic adage.

0:01:28.440,0:01:32.656
It tells us that landlocked countries[br]are condemned to be poor,

0:01:32.680,0:01:35.896
that small countries[br]cannot escape their larger neighbors,

0:01:35.920,0:01:38.840
that vast distances are insurmountable.

0:01:39.880,0:01:43.456
But every journey I take around the world,

0:01:43.480,0:01:46.920
I see an even greater force[br]sweeping the planet:

0:01:47.960,0:01:49.160
connectivity.

0:01:50.080,0:01:53.816
The global connectivity revolution,[br]in all of its forms --

0:01:53.840,0:01:56.536
transportation, energy[br]and communications --

0:01:56.560,0:02:00.816
has enabled such a quantum leap[br]in the mobility of people,

0:02:00.840,0:02:03.576
of goods, of resources, of knowledge,

0:02:03.600,0:02:08.160
such that we can no longer even think[br]of geography as distinct from it.

0:02:08.840,0:02:12.936
In fact, I view the two forces[br]as fusing together

0:02:12.960,0:02:15.040
into what I call "connectography."

0:02:16.280,0:02:20.216
Connectography represents a quantum leap

0:02:20.240,0:02:23.656
in the mobility of people,[br]resources and ideas,

0:02:23.680,0:02:25.480
but it is an evolution,

0:02:26.280,0:02:32.456
an evolution of the world[br]from political geography,

0:02:32.480,0:02:35.280
which is how we legally divide the world,

0:02:36.000,0:02:38.216
to functional geography,

0:02:38.240,0:02:40.816
which is how we actually use the world,

0:02:40.840,0:02:44.960
from nations and borders,[br]to infrastructure and supply chains.

0:02:45.720,0:02:48.160
Our global system is evolving

0:02:49.240,0:02:52.896
from the vertically integrated[br]empires of the 19th century,

0:02:52.920,0:02:57.176
through the horizontally interdependent[br]nations of the 20th century,

0:02:57.200,0:03:02.440
into a global network civilization[br]in the 21st century.

0:03:03.240,0:03:06.576
Connectivity, not sovereignty,

0:03:06.600,0:03:10.816
has become the organizing principle[br]of the human species.

0:03:10.840,0:03:14.240
(Applause)

0:03:15.480,0:03:18.696
We are becoming[br]this global network civilization

0:03:18.720,0:03:21.496
because we are literally building it.

0:03:21.520,0:03:25.216
All of the world's defense budgets[br]and military spending taken together

0:03:25.240,0:03:28.336
total just under[br]two trillion dollars per year.

0:03:28.360,0:03:30.736
Meanwhile, our global[br]infrastructure spending

0:03:30.760,0:03:34.136
is projected to rise[br]to nine trillion dollars per year

0:03:34.160,0:03:35.696
within the coming decade.

0:03:35.720,0:03:37.336
And, well, it should.

0:03:37.360,0:03:40.096
We have been living[br]off an infrastructure stock

0:03:40.120,0:03:42.720
meant for a world population[br]of three billion,

0:03:43.640,0:03:46.736
as our population has crossed[br]seven billion to eight billion

0:03:46.760,0:03:48.600
and eventually nine billion and more.

0:03:49.280,0:03:53.976
As a rule of thumb, we should spend[br]about one trillion dollars

0:03:54.000,0:03:58.240
on the basic infrastructure needs[br]of every billion people in the world.

0:03:59.360,0:04:02.400
Not surprisingly, Asia is in the lead.

0:04:03.320,0:04:05.936
In 2015, China announced the creation

0:04:05.960,0:04:09.000
of the Asian Infrastructure[br]Investment Bank,

0:04:09.880,0:04:13.056
which together with a network[br]of other organizations

0:04:13.080,0:04:16.495
aims to construct a network[br]of iron and silk roads,

0:04:16.519,0:04:18.720
stretching from Shanghai to Lisbon.

0:04:19.640,0:04:23.816
And as all of this topographical[br]engineering unfolds,

0:04:23.840,0:04:29.296
we will likely spend more[br]on infrastructure in the next 40 years,

0:04:29.320,0:04:32.656
we will build more infrastructure[br]in the next 40 years,

0:04:32.680,0:04:35.440
than we have in the past 4,000 years.

0:04:36.760,0:04:38.960
Now let's stop and think[br]about it for a minute.

0:04:39.560,0:04:44.336
Spending so much more on building[br]the foundations of global society

0:04:44.360,0:04:47.176
rather than on the tools to destroy it

0:04:47.200,0:04:49.776
can have profound consequences.

0:04:49.800,0:04:52.856
Connectivity is how[br]we optimize the distribution

0:04:52.880,0:04:55.456
of people and resources around the world.

0:04:55.480,0:04:59.600
It is how mankind comes to be more[br]than just the sum of its parts.

0:05:00.840,0:05:03.440
I believe that is what is happening.

0:05:05.000,0:05:08.936
Connectivity has a twin megatrend[br]in the 21st century:

0:05:08.960,0:05:11.040
planetary urbanization.

0:05:12.000,0:05:15.280
Cities are the infrastructures[br]that most define us.

0:05:15.840,0:05:19.056
By 2030, more than two thirds[br]of the world's population

0:05:19.080,0:05:20.336
will live in cities.

0:05:20.360,0:05:23.096
And these are not[br]mere little dots on the map,

0:05:23.120,0:05:26.720
but they are vast archipelagos[br]stretching hundreds of kilometers.

0:05:27.360,0:05:28.936
Here we are in Vancouver,

0:05:28.960,0:05:30.816
at the head of the Cascadia Corridor

0:05:30.840,0:05:33.680
that stretches south[br]across the US border to Seattle.

0:05:34.600,0:05:36.936
The technology powerhouse[br]of Silicon Valley

0:05:36.960,0:05:39.816
begins north of San Francisco[br]down to San Jose

0:05:39.840,0:05:41.616
and across the bay to Oakland.

0:05:41.640,0:05:44.616
The sprawl of Los Angeles[br]now passes San Diego

0:05:44.640,0:05:46.896
across the Mexican border to Tijuana.

0:05:46.920,0:05:49.896
San Diego and Tijuana[br]now share an airport terminal

0:05:49.920,0:05:52.136
where you can exit into either country.

0:05:52.160,0:05:56.400
Eventually, a high-speed rail network[br]may connect the entire Pacific spine.

0:05:57.680,0:06:01.816
America's northeastern megalopolis[br]begins in Boston through New York

0:06:01.840,0:06:03.616
and Philadelphia to Washington.

0:06:03.640,0:06:05.816
It contains more than 50 million people

0:06:05.840,0:06:08.616
and also has plans[br]for a high-speed rail network.

0:06:08.640,0:06:12.560
But Asia is where we really see[br]the megacities coming together.

0:06:13.280,0:06:17.536
This continuous strip of light[br]from Tokyo through Nagoya to Osaka

0:06:17.560,0:06:19.736
contains more than 80 million people

0:06:19.760,0:06:21.440
and most of Japan's economy.

0:06:22.200,0:06:24.520
It is the world's largest megacity.

0:06:25.160,0:06:26.360
For now.

0:06:26.800,0:06:29.336
But in China, megacity clusters[br]are coming together

0:06:29.360,0:06:32.256
with populations[br]reaching 100 million people.

0:06:32.280,0:06:34.176
The Bohai Rim around Beijing,

0:06:34.200,0:06:36.456
The Yangtze River Delta around Shanghai

0:06:36.480,0:06:38.376
and the Pearl River Delta,

0:06:38.400,0:06:40.736
stretching from Hong Kong[br]north to Guangzhou.

0:06:40.760,0:06:42.096
And in the middle,

0:06:42.120,0:06:45.016
the Chongqing-Chengdu megacity cluster,

0:06:45.040,0:06:47.816
whose geographic footprint[br]is almost the same size

0:06:47.840,0:06:49.480
as the country of Austria.

0:06:51.263,0:06:53.216
And any number of these megacity clusters

0:06:53.240,0:06:56.296
has a GDP approaching[br]two trillion dollars --

0:06:56.320,0:06:59.000
that's almost the same[br]as all of India today.

0:06:59.560,0:07:05.216
So imagine if our global diplomatic[br]institutions, such as the G20,

0:07:05.240,0:07:08.776
were to base their membership[br]on economic size

0:07:08.800,0:07:10.800
rather than national representation.

0:07:11.320,0:07:14.896
Some Chinese megacities[br]may be in and have a seat at the table,

0:07:14.920,0:07:19.040
while entire countries,[br]like Argentina or Indonesia would be out.

0:07:20.080,0:07:23.776
Moving to India, whose population[br]will soon exceed that of China,

0:07:23.800,0:07:26.096
it too has a number of megacity clusters,

0:07:26.120,0:07:28.536
such as the Delhi Capital Region

0:07:28.560,0:07:30.016
and Mumbai.

0:07:30.040,0:07:31.256
In the Middle East,

0:07:31.280,0:07:34.416
Greater Tehran is absorbing[br]one third of Iran's population.

0:07:34.440,0:07:36.296
Most of Egypt's 80 million people

0:07:36.320,0:07:39.336
live in the corridor[br]between Cairo and Alexandria.

0:07:39.360,0:07:43.376
And in the gulf, a necklace[br]of city-states is forming,

0:07:43.400,0:07:44.856
from Bahrain and Qatar,

0:07:44.880,0:07:47.640
through the United Arab Emirates[br]to Muscat in Oman.

0:07:48.520,0:07:50.000
And then there's Lagos,

0:07:50.800,0:07:54.656
Africa's largest city[br]and Nigeria's commercial hub.

0:07:54.680,0:07:56.736
It has plans for a rail network

0:07:56.760,0:08:01.176
that will make it the anchor[br]of a vast Atlantic coastal corridor,

0:08:01.200,0:08:04.256
stretching across Benin, Togo and Ghana,

0:08:04.280,0:08:07.736
to Abidjan, the capital[br]of the Ivory Coast.

0:08:07.760,0:08:11.320
But these countries are suburbs of Lagos.

0:08:12.000,0:08:13.856
In a megacity world,

0:08:13.880,0:08:16.640
countries can be suburbs of cities.

0:08:18.640,0:08:24.760
By 2030, we will have as many[br]as 50 such megacity clusters in the world.

0:08:25.400,0:08:27.256
So which map tells you more?

0:08:27.280,0:08:30.416
Our traditional map[br]of 200 discrete nations

0:08:30.440,0:08:32.336
that hang on most of our walls,

0:08:32.360,0:08:35.360
or this map of the 50 megacity clusters?

0:08:36.159,0:08:38.895
And yet, even this is incomplete

0:08:38.919,0:08:42.936
because you cannot understand[br]any individual megacity

0:08:42.960,0:08:46.120
without understanding[br]its connections to the others.

0:08:46.880,0:08:49.256
People move to cities to be connected,

0:08:49.280,0:08:52.480
and connectivity[br]is why these cities thrive.

0:08:53.320,0:08:56.976
Any number of them,[br]such as Sao Paulo or Istanbul or Moscow,

0:08:57.000,0:09:01.096
has a GDP approaching or exceeding[br]one third of one half

0:09:01.120,0:09:03.280
of their entire national GDP.

0:09:04.120,0:09:05.896
But equally importantly,

0:09:05.920,0:09:08.776
you cannot calculate[br]any of their individual value

0:09:08.800,0:09:12.456
without understanding[br]the role of the flows of people,

0:09:12.480,0:09:14.176
of finance, of technology

0:09:14.200,0:09:15.880
that enable them to thrive.

0:09:16.640,0:09:19.376
Take the Gauteng province of South Africa,

0:09:19.400,0:09:22.536
which contains Johannesburg[br]and the capital Pretoria.

0:09:22.560,0:09:26.496
It too represents just over[br]a third of South Africa's GDP.

0:09:26.520,0:09:29.776
But equally importantly,[br]it is home to the offices

0:09:29.800,0:09:32.776
of almost every single[br]multinational corporation

0:09:32.800,0:09:35.016
that invests directly into South Africa

0:09:35.040,0:09:37.520
and indeed, into the entire[br]African continent.

0:09:38.680,0:09:42.376
Cities want to be part[br]of global value chains.

0:09:42.400,0:09:45.976
They want to be part[br]of this global division of labor.

0:09:46.000,0:09:47.840
That is how cities think.

0:09:48.640,0:09:50.456
I've never met a mayor who said to me,

0:09:50.480,0:09:52.040
"I want my city to be cut off."

0:09:52.840,0:09:55.896
They know that their cities belong as much

0:09:55.920,0:10:01.240
to the global network civilization[br]as to their home countries.

0:10:02.680,0:10:06.320
Now, for many people,[br]urbanization causes great dismay.

0:10:06.920,0:10:09.120
They think cities are wrecking the planet.

0:10:09.960,0:10:11.176
But right now,

0:10:11.200,0:10:15.456
there are more than 200[br]intercity learning networks thriving.

0:10:15.480,0:10:18.816
That is as many as the number[br]of intergovernmental organizations

0:10:18.840,0:10:20.056
that we have.

0:10:20.080,0:10:24.456
And all of these intercity networks[br]are devoted to one purpose,

0:10:24.480,0:10:29.176
mankind's number one priority[br]in the 21st century:

0:10:29.200,0:10:31.280
sustainable urbanization.

0:10:32.680,0:10:33.880
Is it working?

0:10:34.560,0:10:36.296
Let's take climate change.

0:10:36.320,0:10:39.056
We know that summit after summit[br]in New York and Paris

0:10:39.080,0:10:41.880
is not going to reduce[br]greenhouse gas emissions.

0:10:42.560,0:10:45.856
But what we can see[br]is that transferring technology

0:10:45.880,0:10:48.496
and knowledge and policies between cities

0:10:48.520,0:10:53.136
is how we've actually begun to reduce[br]the carbon intensity of our economies.

0:10:53.160,0:10:55.296
Cities are learning from each other.

0:10:55.320,0:10:57.776
How to install zero-emissions buildings,

0:10:57.800,0:11:00.936
how to deploy electric[br]car-sharing systems.

0:11:00.960,0:11:02.176
In major Chinese cities,

0:11:02.200,0:11:05.256
they're imposing quotas[br]on the number of cars on the streets.

0:11:05.280,0:11:06.536
In many Western cities,

0:11:06.560,0:11:08.880
young people don't even[br]want to drive anymore.

0:11:09.720,0:11:11.936
Cities have been part of the problem,

0:11:11.960,0:11:13.960
now they are part of the solution.

0:11:14.880,0:11:19.480
Inequality is the other great challenge[br]to achieving sustainable urbanization.

0:11:19.960,0:11:23.376
When I travel through megacities[br]from end to end --

0:11:23.400,0:11:25.496
it takes hours and days --

0:11:25.520,0:11:29.256
I experience the tragedy[br]of extreme disparity

0:11:29.280,0:11:31.200
within the same geography.

0:11:32.080,0:11:35.096
And yet, our global stock[br]of financial assets

0:11:35.120,0:11:36.576
has never been larger,

0:11:36.600,0:11:40.096
approaching 300 trillion dollars.

0:11:40.120,0:11:43.520
That's almost four times[br]the actual GDP of the world.

0:11:44.520,0:11:48.976
We have taken on such enormous debts[br]since the financial crisis,

0:11:49.000,0:11:52.160
but have we invested them[br]in inclusive growth?

0:11:52.840,0:11:54.960
No, not yet.

0:11:55.800,0:11:59.616
Only when we build sufficient,[br]affordable public housing,

0:11:59.640,0:12:02.776
when we invest in robust[br]transportation networks

0:12:02.800,0:12:07.336
to allow people to connect to each other[br]both physically and digitally,

0:12:07.360,0:12:09.736
that's when our divided[br]cities and societies

0:12:09.760,0:12:11.616
will come to feel whole again.

0:12:11.640,0:12:14.480
(Applause)

0:12:15.840,0:12:18.736
And that is why infrastructure[br]has just been included

0:12:18.760,0:12:21.216
in the United Nations[br]Sustainable Development Goals,

0:12:21.240,0:12:23.560
because it enables all the others.

0:12:24.080,0:12:25.896
Our political and economic leaders

0:12:25.920,0:12:29.016
are learning that connectivity[br]is not charity,

0:12:29.040,0:12:30.240
it's opportunity.

0:12:31.080,0:12:33.816
And that's why our financial community[br]needs to understand

0:12:33.840,0:12:38.840
that connectivity is the most[br]important asset class of the 21st century.

0:12:40.280,0:12:43.960
Now, cities can make the world[br]more sustainable,

0:12:44.600,0:12:46.856
they can make the world more equitable,

0:12:46.880,0:12:49.736
I also believe that[br]connectivity between cities

0:12:49.760,0:12:51.520
can make the world more peaceful.

0:12:52.400,0:12:56.416
If we look at regions of the world[br]with dense relations across borders,

0:12:56.440,0:12:59.216
we see more trade, more investment

0:12:59.240,0:13:00.656
and more stability.

0:13:00.680,0:13:03.176
We all know the story[br]of Europe after World War II,

0:13:03.200,0:13:05.776
where industrial integration[br]kicked off a process

0:13:05.800,0:13:08.360
that gave rise to today's[br]peaceful European Union.

0:13:09.000,0:13:11.616
And you can see that Russia, by the way,

0:13:11.640,0:13:15.640
is the least connected of major powers[br]in the international system.

0:13:16.240,0:13:20.016
And that goes a long way[br]towards explaining the tensions today.

0:13:20.040,0:13:22.936
Countries that have[br]less stake in the system

0:13:22.960,0:13:25.320
also have less to lose in disturbing it.

0:13:26.800,0:13:29.616
In North America, the lines[br]that matter most on the map

0:13:29.640,0:13:33.416
are not the US-Canada border[br]or the US-Mexico border,

0:13:33.440,0:13:36.816
but the dense network of roads[br]and railways and pipelines

0:13:36.840,0:13:39.696
and electricity grids[br]and even water canals

0:13:39.720,0:13:43.536
that are forming an integrated[br]North American union.

0:13:43.560,0:13:48.256
North America does not need more walls,[br]it needs more connections.

0:13:48.280,0:13:50.920
(Applause)

0:13:55.880,0:14:00.216
But the real promise of connectivity[br]is in the postcolonial world.

0:14:00.240,0:14:04.576
All of those regions where borders[br]have historically been the most arbitrary

0:14:04.600,0:14:06.536
and where generations of leaders

0:14:06.560,0:14:09.176
have had hostile relations[br]with each other.

0:14:09.200,0:14:11.576
But now a new group of leaders[br]has come into power

0:14:11.600,0:14:13.160
and is burying the hatchet.

0:14:13.760,0:14:16.936
Let's take Southeast Asia,[br]where high-speed rail networks

0:14:16.960,0:14:19.256
are planned to connect[br]Bangkok to Singapore

0:14:19.280,0:14:22.176
and trade corridors[br]from Vietnam to Myanmar.

0:14:22.200,0:14:27.736
Now this region of 600 million people[br]coordinates its agricultural resources

0:14:27.760,0:14:29.160
and its industrial output.

0:14:29.720,0:14:34.376
It is evolving[br]into what I call a Pax Asiana,

0:14:34.400,0:14:37.240
a peace among Southeast Asian nations.

0:14:38.040,0:14:41.176
A similar phenomenon[br]is underway in East Africa,

0:14:41.200,0:14:42.576
where a half dozen countries

0:14:42.600,0:14:45.896
are investing in railways[br]and multimodal corridors

0:14:45.920,0:14:49.056
so that landlocked countries[br]can get their goods to market.

0:14:49.080,0:14:51.656
Now these countries[br]coordinate their utilities

0:14:51.680,0:14:53.776
and their investment policies.

0:14:53.800,0:14:57.600
They, too, are evolving[br]into a Pax Africana.

0:14:59.200,0:15:02.096
One region we know could[br]especially use this kind of thinking

0:15:02.120,0:15:03.400
is the Middle East.

0:15:04.000,0:15:06.456
As Arab states tragically collapse,

0:15:06.480,0:15:09.216
what is left behind[br]but the ancient cities,

0:15:09.240,0:15:11.720
such as Cairo, Beirut and Baghdad?

0:15:12.400,0:15:17.136
In fact, the nearly[br]400 million people of the Arab world

0:15:17.160,0:15:19.256
are almost entirely urbanized.

0:15:19.280,0:15:21.176
As societies, as cities,

0:15:21.200,0:15:23.456
they are either water rich or water poor,

0:15:23.480,0:15:25.240
energy rich or energy poor.

0:15:26.040,0:15:28.936
And the only way[br]to correct these mismatches

0:15:28.960,0:15:31.576
is not through more wars and more borders,

0:15:31.600,0:15:35.440
but through more connectivity[br]of pipelines and water canals.

0:15:36.040,0:15:39.976
Sadly, this is not yet[br]the map of the Middle East.

0:15:40.000,0:15:41.200
But it should be,

0:15:42.760,0:15:45.800
a connected Pax Arabia,

0:15:46.640,0:15:48.336
internally integrated

0:15:48.360,0:15:52.656
and productively connected[br]to its neighbors: Europe, Asia and Africa.

0:15:52.680,0:15:55.776
Now, it may not seem like connectivity[br]is what we want right now

0:15:55.800,0:15:57.840
towards the world's most turbulent region.

0:15:58.600,0:16:02.216
But we know from history[br]that more connectivity is the only way

0:16:02.240,0:16:04.736
to bring about stability in the long run.

0:16:04.760,0:16:07.456
Because we know[br]that in region after region,

0:16:07.480,0:16:10.416
connectivity is the new reality.

0:16:10.440,0:16:13.576
Cities and countries[br]are learning to aggregate

0:16:13.600,0:16:16.080
into more peaceful and prosperous wholes.

0:16:17.760,0:16:20.080
But the real test is going to be Asia.

0:16:21.040,0:16:23.976
Can connectivity overcome[br]the patterns of rivalry

0:16:24.000,0:16:26.576
among the great powers of the Far East?

0:16:26.600,0:16:30.960
After all, this is where World War III[br]is supposed to break out.

0:16:31.920,0:16:35.056
Since the end of the Cold War,[br]a quarter century ago,

0:16:35.080,0:16:38.456
at least six major wars[br]have been predicted for this region.

0:16:38.480,0:16:40.080
But none have broken out.

0:16:41.160,0:16:42.720
Take China and Taiwan.

0:16:43.560,0:16:48.176
In the 1990s, this was everyone's[br]leading World War III scenario.

0:16:48.200,0:16:49.696
But since that time,

0:16:49.720,0:16:54.216
the trade and investment volumes[br]across the straits have become so intense

0:16:54.240,0:16:55.456
that last November,

0:16:55.480,0:16:58.336
leaders from both sides[br]held a historic summit

0:16:58.360,0:17:01.200
to discuss eventual[br]peaceful reunification.

0:17:01.960,0:17:04.776
And even the election[br]of a nationalist party in Taiwan

0:17:04.800,0:17:07.576
that's pro-independence earlier this year

0:17:07.599,0:17:10.079
does not undermine[br]this fundamental dynamic.

0:17:11.359,0:17:14.256
China and Japan have[br]an even longer history of rivalry

0:17:14.280,0:17:16.695
and have been deploying[br]their air forces and navies

0:17:16.720,0:17:18.880
to show their strength in island disputes.

0:17:19.520,0:17:20.736
But in recent years,

0:17:20.760,0:17:24.896
Japan has been making[br]its largest foreign investments in China.

0:17:24.920,0:17:27.640
Japanese cars are selling[br]in record numbers there.

0:17:28.440,0:17:31.376
And guess where[br]the largest number of foreigners

0:17:31.400,0:17:33.520
residing in Japan today comes from?

0:17:34.120,0:17:35.920
You guessed it: China.

0:17:37.520,0:17:39.416
China and India have fought a major war

0:17:39.440,0:17:41.496
and have three outstanding[br]border disputes,

0:17:41.520,0:17:43.976
but today India is the second[br]largest shareholder

0:17:44.000,0:17:46.416
in the Asian Infrastructure[br]Investment Bank.

0:17:46.440,0:17:49.696
They're building a trade corridor[br]stretching from Northeast India

0:17:49.720,0:17:53.640
through Myanmar and Bangladesh[br]to Southern China.

0:17:54.320,0:17:58.176
Their trade volume has grown[br]from 20 billion dollars a decade ago

0:17:58.200,0:17:59.800
to 80 billion dollars today.

0:18:00.600,0:18:03.616
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan[br]have fought three wars

0:18:03.640,0:18:05.856
and continue to dispute Kashmir,

0:18:05.880,0:18:09.416
but they're also negotiating[br]a most-favored-nation trade agreement

0:18:09.440,0:18:11.176
and want to complete a pipeline

0:18:11.200,0:18:15.176
stretching from Iran[br]through Pakistan to India.

0:18:15.200,0:18:16.760
And let's talk about Iran.

0:18:17.880,0:18:21.080
Wasn't it just two years ago[br]that war with Iran seemed inevitable?

0:18:21.760,0:18:26.480
Then why is every single major power[br]rushing to do business there today?

0:18:28.560,0:18:29.816
Ladies and gentlemen,

0:18:29.840,0:18:33.840
I cannot guarantee[br]that World War III will not break out.

0:18:34.640,0:18:37.640
But we can definitely see[br]why it hasn't happened yet.

0:18:38.680,0:18:42.376
Even though Asia is home[br]to the world's fastest growing militaries,

0:18:42.400,0:18:45.976
these same countries[br]are also investing billions of dollars

0:18:46.000,0:18:48.936
in each other's infrastructure[br]and supply chains.

0:18:48.960,0:18:52.776
They are more interested[br]in each other's functional geography

0:18:52.800,0:18:55.256
than in their political geography.

0:18:55.280,0:19:00.336
And that is why their leaders think twice,[br]step back from the brink,

0:19:00.360,0:19:04.920
and decide to focus on economic ties[br]over territorial tensions.

0:19:06.440,0:19:09.040
So often it seems[br]like the world is falling apart,

0:19:09.760,0:19:11.696
but building more connectivity

0:19:11.720,0:19:14.840
is how we put Humpty Dumpty[br]back together again,

0:19:15.480,0:19:17.240
much better than before.

0:19:17.960,0:19:19.216
And by wrapping the world

0:19:19.240,0:19:22.696
in such seamless physical[br]and digital connectivity,

0:19:22.720,0:19:24.896
we evolve towards a world

0:19:24.920,0:19:28.440
in which people can rise[br]above their geographic constraints.

0:19:28.920,0:19:32.096
We are the cells and vessels

0:19:32.120,0:19:35.336
pulsing through these global[br]connectivity networks.

0:19:35.360,0:19:39.016
Everyday, hundreds of millions[br]of people go online

0:19:39.040,0:19:41.656
and work with people they've never met.

0:19:41.680,0:19:45.176
More than one billion people[br]cross borders every year,

0:19:45.200,0:19:49.120
and that's expected to rise[br]to three billion in the coming decade.

0:19:50.200,0:19:52.696
We don't just build connectivity,

0:19:52.720,0:19:54.040
we embody it.

0:19:54.960,0:19:58.296
We are the global network civilization,

0:19:58.320,0:20:00.200
and this is our map.

0:20:01.240,0:20:05.640
A map of the world in which[br]geography is no longer destiny.

0:20:06.560,0:20:10.600
Instead, the future[br]has a new and more hopeful motto:

0:20:11.400,0:20:13.360
connectivity is destiny.

0:20:14.040,0:20:15.256
Thank you.

0:20:15.280,0:20:21.509
(Applause)