Foreign firms contribute little to technology spread: survey

Home>>Sci-Edu

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Foreign firms contribute little to technology spread: survey

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Foreign-funded enterprises in China are not active in technology research, and contribute little to introducing advanced technologies to China, in contrast to the country's original expectation on foreign investment.

A survey titled "Use of Foreign Investment and Improvement of China's Innovation Capacity" by researchers with the world economic and politics research institute under the Chinese Academyof Social Sciences disproved some commonly held views about foreign companies in China.

According to the survey, foreign-funded enterprises in China are mostly recipients or users of technologies developed by their multinational parent companies, but not creators of new technologies.

Among the surveyed companies, about 60 percent have establishedindependent research and development (R&D) branches, but with a comparatively smaller group of employees. Most have less than 50 employees specializing in technology research. Nearly 75 percent restrain their annual R&D expenditure to less than 5 million yuan (604,595 US dollars).

The R&D departments of Chinese foreign-funded companies still lag far behind of those attached to multinationals in terms of research subjects, financial input and personnel composition, the survey showed.

They also perform unsatisfactorily in R&D output, as indicated by the number of patent applications and approvals as well as the output value of new products, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, some 60 percent of the surveyed companies had no cooperation experience with local governments, 77 percent had not formally cooperated with government research institutes, and 79 percent showed no desire to ally with local domestic enterprises.

"The survey shows that foreign companies haven't brought advanced technologies to China," said officials with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Officials said that modern production facilities didn't equate with advanced technologies. Chinese staff could not claim mastery of certain technology if they were only capable of operating machines or equipment supported by the technology.

However, foreign-funded companies now mainly introduce their products and production facilities to China, but not their R&D capacities, making home enterprises more reliant on them.

To pursue rapid economic development, some local governments have focused more on attracting foreign investment, but gradually weakened the input in domestic enterprises for technology researches, making it more difficult for them to enhance innovation capacity.

Insiders consider that the government should strengthen foreign companies' cooperation with local domestic enterprises in the future to benefit the spread of foreign advanced technologies in China.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Macao's fever for China's first astronaut propels donations to space tech

UTStarcom, Mitsushita cooperate for 3G development

State councilor stresses strategic planning for science and technology

China slams AIT head's remarks on Taiwan issue ( 4 Messages)

Internet changes life in China: News focus ( 2 Messages)

2003, the first pageant year in China? ( 4 Messages)

US rushes to embrace strategy of "Iraqification" ( 4 Messages)

Traffic woes to ease with express thoroughfares ( 3 Messages)