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China is the West’s corporate R&D lab. Can it remain so?
Foreign firms want Chinese boffins. America and China may have other plans.
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In 2023, when overall foreign direct investments in China shrivelled by 80 per cent, those in R&D rose by 4 per cent.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
The Economist
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China is, famously, the world’s factory and a giant market for the world’s companies. More unremarked is its growing role as the world’s research and development laboratory.
Between 2012 and 2021, foreign firms increased their collective Chinese research personnel by a fifth, to 716,000. Their annual R&D spending in the country almost doubled to 338 billion yuan (S$62.5 billion). Add investments by local firms, and China now matches Europe’s R&D tally. Only America splurges more.
