China’s Changing National and Regional Innovation Systems and Regional Distribution of R&D

Abstract

This article examines the transformation of China’s national and regional innovation systems. We review an emerging literature on innovation research on China, especially geographical studies of innovation, and argue that China’s national innovation system has become more enterprise‐centered since the economic reform started in 1979. This article systematically evaluates the strength and weakness of China’s national innovation system and argues that the new innovation system has a significant regional dimension demonstrated through attempts to establish regional innovation systems. R&Ds are concentrated in high‐tech development zones in China. However, these zones are more manufacturing oriented. In other words, there is more development than research. These regional systems, however, play a role in promoting economic competitiveness in their respective regions.

What makes renewable energy successful in China? The case of the Shandong province solar water heater innovation system

“…Recent research gives rise to the claim that each Chinese province can actually be perceived as an extended RIS or even a provincial IS, which all together constitute the NIS of China (Li, 2009;Zhang et al, 2010;Chen and Guan, 2011;Yang et al, 2012). This claim can be defended on four different grounds.…”

“…First, there is the independence of the province as a political, administrative and economic geographic region (Segal and Thun, 2001;Li, 2009) due to ongoing decentralization of policy and decision making in China (Hofen, 2010;Sun et al, 2011). Secondly, there is a great difference in innovative capacity and economic development between different provinces (Sun, 2003;Sun and Liu, 2010;Zhang et al, 2010;Yang et al, 2012;Chen and Guan, 2012). Thirdly, the restricted mobility of personnel between provinces leads to stronger ties within the political area of each province (Chang and Shih, 2004;Li, 2009).…”

Embeddedness and local patterns of innovation: evidence from Chinese prefectural cities

“…3 Evidence is mitigated but not confuted by referring to the domestic applications to the SIPO: 31% of innovative activities in China were located in the same regions as above in 1995, then grown to 60% in 2010. 4 These figures are the product of a specific, multilayered and evolving set of science, technology and innovation (STI) policies at a national level, as well as of more local drivers of development (Fu et al, 2016;Zhang, 2010). Major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, for instance, were better endowed of local R&D capacity to attract seeds of local innovation systems in the origin (Zhang, 2010).…”

“…4 These figures are the product of a specific, multilayered and evolving set of science, technology and innovation (STI) policies at a national level, as well as of more local drivers of development (Fu et al, 2016;Zhang, 2010). Major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, for instance, were better endowed of local R&D capacity to attract seeds of local innovation systems in the origin (Zhang, 2010). Other cities like Shenzhen differently took advantage of dramatically rescaling alongside country's development since the early 1980s (Zeng, 2010).…”

Regionalni sustavi inovacija kao društvena polja

“…The weaknesses of the system are its weak absorptive capacity and the underdeveloped social capital. The so-called industrial cities like Shenzhen stand in the forefront of the new development (Sigurdson, 2004.;Zhang et al, 2010. ).…”