The winding path for foreign companies: building R&D centers in China

摘要

Cost-driven R&D was the original model that pushed foreign companies to start people-intensive product development activities in China, but this pattern is no longer relevant because the costs of labor, space and equipment have risen rapidly. For cost concerns, companies are now better off going to India where there is still a gap with Europe or the USA. The current dominant pattern is the marketing-driven R&D model exemplified by the automotive industry and the example of GM. The aim is to adapt technologies imported from outside China to the Chinese market.