The writer, chief executive and president of Siemens AG, stresses that 30 years of digital technology flattened the world, linking markets, trade and production across borders. The pandemic, energy crisis, labour shortages and geopolitical tensions exposed how fragile that flat world is, prompting companies rebalancing for resilience alongside cost and efficiency. A more regional form of globalisation is emerging, with manufacturing moving closer to customers while a patchwork of software, data and AI keeps sites connected. At the World Economic Forum‑designated “lighthouse factories,” this shift has raised labour productivity by 40 per cent and halved the time to adapt production lines. Success hinges on machines, factories and companies exchanging data and reusing solutions—software, data and AI can be improved once and deployed widely if systems can share Proceedings.

Geopolitics is drawing new borders, and the US-China technology divide is reshaping the landscape worldwide. Export controls, data localisation rules and divergent cyber‑security requirements cut new lines through global technology, making it harder to connect systems and scale what works. If unchecked, digital borders could harden into a digital iron curtain, slowing progress, trade and idea exchange.

Europe, caught between the two technological superpowers, has a particular stake and a unique opportunity to shape the answer. Rather than building another walled garden, it can become a trusted connector, creating an ecosystem that others want to join. Interoperability must become a strategic imperative for the EU, and enlarging the single market for digital products and services is a necessary step. The emerging digital trade partnership with Pacific economies, including Japan, Australia and Canada, could model how to bring different ecosystems together. The biggest question remains: will resilience be built on connections or on systems designed to keep one another out?