Internationalization of Chinese Research and Development

Abstract

The internationalization of Chinese research and development (R&D) is a fairly recent phenomenon and still ongoing process. What makes the rise of international Chinese R&D remarkable is that this is—alongside India—one of the first such endeavors by a developing country with already one of the most substantial global R&D footprints, even including Western countries. Similar motivations and challenges of earlier R&D globalization are replicated and observed also in the recent Chinese internationalization, with a few emerging country-specific nuances, such as the focus on technology acquisition through merger and acquisition (M&A) and suspected central coordination by the Chinese government, which has given rise to challenges of its own for Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs). In this respect, China seems to have been the victim of its own success; the future of Chinese R&D internationalization bears both opportunities and challenges for the global innovation community.