SG KE Outsourcing Innovation?
Can a country outsource innovation? And
do multinationals need to spread their research and development across
international borders? China may provide an answer to both these
questions.
The country
needs to move up the technological ladder as its economy gets richer
and changes from being driven by low-cost manufactured exports. It
needs ideas and entrepreneurs to do that.
At
the same time, commercial R&D in high-tech industries is becoming
an increasingly global undertaking, with still unfolding economic and
security implications. Whereas China accounts for barely 2% of the
capital spending by U.S. and U.S.-affiliated companies outside the
U.S., in the computer and electronics industries the figure is more
than 10%.
