Genomförda forskarseminarier

[2004-09-14]

Regional Innovation Systems in China

Seminarieledare
Professor Jon Sigurdson, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm

Om forskarseminariet
Three of the major economic regions in China - the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and Bo Hai Rim - have a number of striking similarities. The success of these regions has its roots in three factors:

First, the central government has strongly supported the regions by providing infrastructure and resources such as industrial parks, science parks, incubators and other factors that facilitate natural science and technology research.

Second, foreign direct investment and close links to neighboring countries have fostered regional development through technology transfer, management skills and extensive links to global markets.

Third, the development of technological and industrial clusters has provided a basis for further development.

Many regions all over China are likely to become clusters with huge innovative capacity. Even if the clusters have strong innovative capacity, they are weakly linked and inadequately supported by actors at the state-level. The formation of these three clusters, however, has prompted the provinces and cities within them to act as midwives to bring about an environment that can produce not only incremental, but breakthrough innovation in future-oriented industries.

A number of regional development programs and projects play an important role in this process and has the potential of enhancing the necessary strong links between local clusters, foreign technology sources and national programs.