Wang Xing Ming’s research while affiliated with Renmin University of China and other places

To best use their proprietary resources companies can extend the application of their know-how through technology collaborations. International technology transfer provides a means whereby they can globalise their production operations to take advantage of cost or market factors. This paper examines the question of partnership arrangements for international technology transfer. Using research carried out in China it considers the forms of ownership arrangement used to transfer technology for production between industrialised and newly developing countries. It also addresses the question of how companies try to retain their competitive advantage by protecting the technology from leakage.

Results of complementary surveys of foreign and Chinese manufacturing enterprises with respect to their objectives and expectations regarding technology transfer into China show that the major strategic objective of foreign enterprises, to gain access to the Chinese market, fits well with Chinese enterprises’ main objective of improving domestic competitiveness but less well with that of accessing world markets through technology transfer. Foreign firms rate highly the capability of Chinese enterprises to learn new technologies and also find the Chinese macro environment for business favourable. The survey results provide information that will help managers with their negotiations on co-operating with prospective partners for the transfer of technology as well as assisting policy makers who wish to facilitate more effective transfer arrangements.

Due to its fast growth China is rapidly becoming a focus for globalized manufacturing strategies and is now one of the world's largest markets for technology. The international transfer of manufacturing technology has also contributed significantly to the recent sharp increase in the rate of China 's industrial development. The Chinese machine tool industry, for example, has exhibited an annual growth of more than 12% between 1980 and 1995 and is now one of the largest markets for machine tool technology. Technology transfer agreements are not motivated only by the willingness of foreign suppliers but also by the desire of Chinese enterprises to acquire technology. One of the major problems in technology transfer is how to establish the value of the technology. ' In many cases partnerships between foreign companies and Chinese enterprises fail to become established because the value of technology cannot be agreed by both sides. It is therefore important to establish a method for valuing transferred technology. This paper outlines the concept of a technology valuation model which is being developed using empirical data from the machine tool industry. It is based on research carried out in the UK and China, and draws on selected case studies of technology transfer in the machine tool sector supplemented by information obtained from questionnaire surveys carried out in both countries.

Since opening to the outside world in the late 1970s China has become one of the world's largest markets for manufacturing technology. Technology transfer is therefore becoming one of the most effective routes for gaining access to the Chinese market. China's policy of targeting specific sectors, coupled with its encouragement of foreign investment and technology inputs, have shaped the development and structure of priority industries. As a result, there are now wide differences between enterprises in China in terms <>f their capabilities as well as the forms and effects of collaboration with foreign technology suppliers. This paper examines and compares recent trends in the transfer of manufacturing technology to China's machine tool and electronics industries and discusses the influences of recent industrial policy changes. It is based on research carried out over the last five years and draws on various cases of technology transfer in these two sectors as well as data from questionnaire surveys carried out in the UK and China.

The opening up of the Chinese economy and the associated transfer of technology from abroad have been taking place at an accelerating pace. Technology is crucial to China's industrial development. It is a productive resource and has a vital role in the process of economic and social development. This article provides an overview of technology transfer into China, focusing on recent developments, and examines the macroenvironmental and microenvironmental influences which foreign enterprises must consider when making investments or technology transfer decisions. Cases of companies engaged in international technology transfer are used to illustrate the discussion on the microenvironment. To be successful, foreign investors and suppliers of technology must respond to China's industrial priorities and pursue projects that are compatible with the country's broad policy goals as well as the corporate objectives of Chinese partners. The article concludes by listing a number of points to which attention should be paid before a decision is made to transfer technology to China.