China is dramatically catching up and is rapidly becoming a leading technological innovator on the global scale. The number of Chinese firms with global ambitions is growing fast, more and more technological innovation is coming from China, and the number of patents in China is also growing steadily. The negative side of this development is the still insufficient protection of intellectual property in China. The phenomenon of counterfeits originating from China has increased constantly over the past two decades. Moreover, within the past ten years the scale of intellectual property theft has risen exponentially in terms of its sophistication, volume, the range of goods, and the countries affected. This book addresses managers dealing with innovation in China, and offers concrete advice on how Western firms can benefit from these innovations. Among others, it provides examples and checklists to help decision-makers active in China.
Following decades in which China's approach to technology has been to imitate, the country is now transforming itself to become innovation-oriented. This pioneering study examines whether patents play a similar role in promoting innovation in China as they do in the West, exploring the interplay between patents and China's biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in particular.
We propose a new methodology to estimate empirically the input price-induced technical change and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in China. Our primary goal is to test Hicks' induced innovation hypothesis by examining whether technical change in China has been induced by sharp increase in input prices that have accompanied its rapid economic growth. Utilizing the idea of a firm's two-stage optimization problem, we develop a new parametric form of the variable profit function wherein the derived input demand and output supply functions can be easily constrained to be regular, and the functional structure is parsimonious in the number of parameters. Applying this methodology to Chinese time series data for 1986-2015, we find that not only is wage-induced innovation significant and quantitatively important, but also that it substantially buffers a long-term decline in TFP growth that would otherwise be quite substantial. We conclude that China's economic growth is predominantly driven by wage-induced innovation along with massive injection of heavily subsidized physical inputs in public works and huge investment in industrial sectors.
This work closely examines the strengths and weaknesses of the Chinese economic system to discover where the nation may be headed and what the Chinese experience reveals about emerging market economies.
China is trying to turn its labor, capital and resources intensive, lower added-value and export dependent growth into a sustainable innovative economy. This is changing the world’s power balance and has sparked a race between East and West in knowledge-based, high added-value economic innovation. Inspired by their extensive experience in doing business with China, the authors show how the US, the EU and China have reached a crossroad where ten battle fields decide about their future earning capacity and prosperity. Whether China will be a threat or an opportunity depends on the main players in government, public and private organizations rethinking their innovation policies and paths of business development. This books offers a new view on innovation which can be applied by corporate leaders and policy makers to get ready for the future.
Undisputedly, China has become the world's manufacturing powerhouse, accounting for around half of all personal computers, digital cameras and kitchen appliances. However, the country is fast transitioning from low-cost manufacturing to a higher-value, innovation-led economy, a critical transformation that is at the heart of this new title. Companies are the essential engines of the wealth-creation process, particularly in the areas of internet and mobile telecommunications, and firms such as Tencent and Xiaomi are showing clear potential to become major players. Demonstrating strong commitment to the country's relentless progress in the realm of innovation, the Chinese government has encouraged the development of a business environment in which firms can experiment, operate and thrive. Created in China provides an examination of the critical human factors at play, as well as re-assessing some of the metrics traditionally used to describe and measure China's capacity for innovation. As Chinese firms begin to transform the country into a truly global innovator, the emerging patterns of future innovation are identified and reviewed. New and dynamic practices are arising that are recognisably Chinese, yet at the same time capable of competing on the world stage. Following the successes of firms such as Huawei, Haier and Lenovo, a growing number of technology-focused firms are now turning their attention towards markets outside of China – a development that will not only benefit the country but will provide exciting opportunities for businesses throughout the world.
China's changing course, and sustainable success requires a shift in strategy The End of Copycat China helps business executives and investors understand how China's economy is shifting from one based on heavy investment to one on services and consumption by providing insight that help shape effective strategy. Drawing from over 50,000 interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private equity investors, private Chinese companies, and multinationals, this book describes how Chinese firms are increasingly focused on innovation rather than copying what worked in America and how consumers are evolving with their hopes, dreams and aspirations. China's growth model of the last three decades is becoming increasingly ineffective, as relying on heavy investment and exports is becoming less and less feasible. Fifty percent of China's growth in 2013 stemmed from consumption, the government is establishing a Free Trade zone in Shanghai and ending the dominance of state-owned enterprises. This book provides a roadmap for companies and investors looking to navigate these changes and capture emerging trends, with deep insight and practical guidance on what innovation looks like in the new China. Survey the development of innovation taking place in China's economy, from an insider's perspective Consider the changes that must take place to shore up the broken growth model Examine the consumer trends emerging in the midst of rapid market evolution Understand how China's rise will impact its neighbors like Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia China's dramatic shift toward consumption presents a tremendous opportunity for foreign business, but traditional tactics are outdated at best, financially fatal at worst, as local competitors focus on innovation and move up the value chain and as consumers look for new brands and categories to spend money on. New strategies are needed to keep pace with the changing regulatory and consumer environments, and "business as usual" won't get very far. The End of Copycat China is the business guide to this emerging market, with expert guidance from the inside.
Two trends will have more influence than anything else on the world’s future political and economic situation: the development of artificial intelligence and the emergence of China as a competitor to the United States on the international stage. This book is about the emerging innovation economy. It uses systems theory and evolutionary economics as a theoretical point of departure and explains why the focal point of the geopolitical stage is moving away from the alliance between the United States and Europe, and towards an alliance between China, the 14 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership countries, the countries along the new silk road, and Europe. The book argues that the globalization strategy of neoliberalism laid the foundation for the Chinese economic engine. Whereas the old globalization was driven by cost differences generally, and wage costs specifically, the new globalization is driven by divergence in competence in general, and technological competence in particular, and China’s primary goal is to develop artificial intelligence and intelligent robots. Further, the book posits that the interactions between the climate crisis and the new technology will change production, distribution and the creation of profits, both in China and more widely in the global innovation economy. The book develops a structure to describe, analyze and explain the Chinese innovation economy and contributes to the discussion regarding technological developments in China. The book is written for readers who are oriented towards the new globalization that is emerging in the innovation economy and the factors driving China's economic growth.
After more than three decades of average annual growth close to 10 percent, China's economy is transitioning to a 'new normal' of slower but more balanced and sustainable growth. Its old drivers of growth -- a growing labor force, the migration from rural areas to cities, high levels of investments, and expanding exports -- are waning or having less impact. China's policymakers are well aware that the country needs new drivers of growth. This report proposes a reform agenda that emphasizes productivity and innovation to help policymakers promote China's future growth and achieve their vision of a modern and innovative China. The reform agenda is based on the three D's: removing Distortions to strengthen market competition and enhance the efficient allocation of resources in the economy; accelerating Diffusion of advanced technologies and management practices in China's economy, taking advantage of the large remaining potential for catch-up growth; and fostering Discovery and nurturing China's competitive and innovative capacity as China approaches OECD incomes in the decades ahead and extends the global innovation and technology frontier.
China's extraordinary economic development is explained in large part by the way it innovates. Contrary to widely held views, China's innovation machine is not created and controlled by an all-powerful government. Instead, it is a complex, interdependent system composed of various elements, involving bottom-up innovation driven by innovators and entrepreneurs and highly pragmatic and adaptive top-down policy. Using case studies of leading firms and industries, along with statistics and policy analysis, this book argues that China's innovation machine is similar to a natural ecosystem. Innovations in technology, organization, and business models resemble genetic mutations which are initially random, self-serving, and isolated, but the best fitting are selected by the market and their impacts are amplified by the innovation machine. This machine draws on China's multitude manufacturers, supply chains, innovation clusters, and digitally literate population, connected through super-sized digital platforms. China's innovation suffers from a lack of basic research and reliance upon certain critical technologies from overseas, yet its scale (size) and scope (diversity) possess attributes that make it self-correcting and stronger in the face of challenges. China's innovation machine is most effective in a policy environment where the market prevails; policy intervention plays a significant role when market mechanisms are premature or fail. The future success of China's innovation will depend on continuing policy pragmatism, mass innovation, and entrepreneurship, and the development of the 'new infrastructures'.
