China R&D: A High-Tech Field of Dreams1

Abstract

This study highlights the rapid pace at which new commercial research and development (R&D) centres are being established by foreign investors in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It recounts the motivations behind this growing trend, subtle changes in this trend over time, some lessons learned, and asks what it could mean for future Asia-Pacific relations. The essay emphasizes China's distinct role in attracting R&D through its extensive investment in municipal services, infrastructure and regulatory reforms as well as policy incentives that have helped to spur ever-greater levels of foreign R&D investment over the past decade.