R&D Activities of Manufacturing Multinationals in China: Structure, Motivations and Regional Differences

This paper investigates the R&D motivations of various multinationals operating in China, drawing on a large-scale, firm-level dataset of official Chinese statistics on science and technology activities. The present study shows that R&D efforts in China have intensified for both foreign-owned and domestic firms, but less so for foreign-owned firms, perhaps because foreign-owned firms tend to operate on a foundation of technological capabilities developed within their home countries. Statistical analysis confirms that the major motivations for foreign R&D in China production-driven, not market-driven or technology-driven. Nevertheless, one sees significant variations in foreign R&D strategies from region to region. Guangdong is characterized by production-driven R&D. In Beijing, R&D strategies tend to take a technology-driven approach, drawing on the clusters of scientific institutions. In Shanghai, the R&D efforts of multinationals tend to focus on support liar market-driven R&D,