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LSE Business Review blog:
China's highly successful demand for technology transfer in high-speed trains

13 October 2016

The rate of growth in technological innovations in China has increased significantly in the past two decades (see Figure 1). What's more, it is widely believed that the ability to learn from foreign technology and chase the global technological frontier relatively quickly has been a key contributor to China's growth miracle (Van Reenen and Yueh, 2012). The Chinese government has actively pursued what it calls a 'market for technology' policy: demanding that in return for having market access, foreign multinationals should develop technology cooperation with local firms.
Our research explores the extent to which international technology transfer spurs domestic innovation. We focus on the best example of the market for technology policy: the introduction of state-of-the-art technology into China's high-speed railways (HSR) during the massive expansion of its HSR system in recent years.

This article was posted online by the LSE Business Review blog on October 13, 2016
Link to the article here

Related publications
High-speed rail in China, Yatang Lin, Yu Qin and Zhuan Xie. Article in CentrePiece Volume 21, Issue 2, Autumn 2016
International Technology Transfer and Domestic Innovation: Evidence from the High-Speed Rail Sector in China, Yatang Lin, Yu Qin and Zhuan Zie, Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper No.1393, December 2015

Related links
Yatang Lin webpage
Trade Programme webpage

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