Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:22:38.780Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Semiconductor Catch-Up Is Not Enough: Twigging the Context of China's Ambitions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Martin Kenney
Affiliation:
University of California, USA
Arie Y. Lewin*
Affiliation:
Duke University, USA
*
Corresponding author: Arie Y. Lewin (ayl3@duke.edu)

Abstract

The extensive narrative of growth and development of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) in China by Jiang and Murmann (2022) and the discussion of Chinese strengths and weaknesses portray the remarkable progress that China has made, especially in technology relative to advances in the basic sciences. In our response, we situate their contribution in the larger context of Chinese economic growth and the challenges it faces in transforming these accomplishments into an embedded national capability to become a leading innovation economy and thereby deliver prosperity to its enormous but aging population. The contexts for the successes and weaknesses in ICT that Jiang and Murmann (2022) describe so admirably are vital for a more comprehensive understanding of their place in the overall development of China.

Type
Dialogue, Debate, and Discussion
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The International Association for Chinese Management Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

ACCEPTED BY Deputy Editor Johann Peter Murmann

References

REFERENCES

Autio, E., Kenney, M., Mustar, P., Siegel, D., & Wright, M. 2014. Entrepreneurial innovation: The importance of context. Research Policy, 43(7): 10971108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, C., Choi, W., Seong, J., Stretch, B., Tonby, O., Wang, P., & Woetzel, J. 2020. The future of Asia: Decoding the value and performance of corporate Asia. McKinsey Global Institute.Google Scholar
Cebr. 2019. From silk road to silicon road: How the Belt and Road Initiative will transform the global economy. London: Cebr.Google Scholar
Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. 1990. Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1): 128152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Soyres, F., Mulabdic, A., Murray, S., Rocha, N., & Ruta, M. 2019. How much will the belt and road initiative reduce trade costs?. International Economics, 159: 151164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dossani, R., Bouey, J., & Zhu, K. 2020. Demystifying the Belt and Road Initiative: A clarification of its key features, objectives and impacts. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Available from URL: https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR1338.htmlCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eichengreen, B., Park, D., & Shin, K. 2013. Growth slowdowns redux: New evidence on the middle-income trap (No. w18673).Working Paper, National Bureau of Economic Research. Available from URL: https://www.nber.org/papers/w18673Google Scholar
Feldgoise, J., & Zwetsloot, R. 2020, August. Estimating the number of Chinese STEM students in the United States. Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Georgetown University. https://doi.org/10.51593/20200023CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Global Times. 2021, March 7. China in third tier of a four-tier global manufacturing hierarchy: former minister. Available from URL: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202103/1217538.shtmlGoogle Scholar
Global Times. 2022, January 26. R&D spending reaches new high of 2.44% of GDP in 2021 as innovation ability grows. Available from URL: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202201/1247969.shtmlGoogle Scholar
Hammer, A. B., & Yusuf, S. 2020. Is China in a high-tech, low-productivity trap? U.S. International Trade Commission, Office of Economics Working Paper #2020–07–B (July).Google Scholar
Jiang, H., & Murmann, J. P. 2022. The rise of China's digital economy: An overview. Management and Organization Review, 18(4): 790802.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kihara, T. 2022. China GDP forecast to grow 5% in 2022: Nikkei survey. NikkeiAsia. [Cited 6 August 2022]. Available from URL: https://linkingin.co/top-trends-asia.nikkei.com/Economy/China-GDP-forecast-to-grow-5.1-in-2022-Nikkei-surveyGoogle Scholar
Krishnan, M., Mischke, J., & Remes, J. 2018. Is the Solow Paradox back? McKinsey Quarterly. Available from URL: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/is-the-solow-paradox-backGoogle Scholar
Layne, C. 2018. The US-Chinese power shift and the end of the pax americana. International Affairs, 94(1): 89111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, K. F. 2018. AI superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order. New York: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Lew, J. J., Roughhead, G., Hillman, J., & Sacks, D. 2021. China’s Belt and Road: Implications for the United States. New York: Council on Foreign Relations.Google Scholar
Lewin, A. Y., & Witt, M. 2022. China’s belt and road initiative and international business: The overlooked centrality of politics. Journal of International Business Policy, 5: 266275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewin, A. Y., Kenney, M., & Murmann, J. P. 2016. China’s innovation challenge: Overcoming the middle-income trap. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewin, A. Y., Massini, S., & Peeters, C. 2020. Absorptive capacity, socially enabling mechanisms, and the role of learning from trial and error experiments: A tribute to Dan Levinthal’s contribution to international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 51: 15681579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loyalka, P., Liu, O. L., Li, G., Kardanova, E., Chirikov, I., Hu, S., Yu, N., Ma, L., Guo, F., Beteille, T., Tognatta, N., Gu, L., Ling, G., Federiakin, D., Wang, H., Khanna, S., Bhuradia, A., Shi, Z., & Li, Y. 2021. Skill levels and gains in university STEM education in China, India, Russia and the United States. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(7): 892904.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2022. Leading indicators OECD: Reference series. Gross domestic product (GDP): Normalized for the United States. Available from URL: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USALORSGPNOSTSAMGoogle Scholar
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 2021. Venture capital investments in artificial intelligence. OECD Digital Economy Papers #319 (September).Google Scholar
Petricevic, O., & Teece, D. J. 2019. The structural reshaping of globalization: Implications for strategic sectors, profiting from innovation, and the multinational enterprise. Journal of International Business Studies, 50: 14871512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, J. 2022. China's population is shrinking, fast. Financial Times. [Cited 1 February 2022]. Available from URL: https://www.ft.com/content/28a1f975-8374-4b87-b2ba-2e60ddf203a0Google Scholar
Prescott, E. C. 1988. Robert M. Solow's neoclassical growth model: An influential contribution to economics. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 90(1): 712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prud'homme, D., & Zhang, T. 2019. Chinese patenting trends and the role of the state. In Prud'homme, D. & Zhang, T. (Eds.), China's intellectual property regime for innovation: 4371. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rajah, R., & Leng, A. 2022. Revising down the rise of China. The Lowy Institute. Available from URL: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/revising-down-rise-chinaGoogle Scholar
Rozelle, S., & Hell, N. 2020. Invisible China: How the urban-rural divide threatens China’s rise. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Economist. 2022, April 16. Xi Jingping's bold plan for China's next phase of innovation. Available from URL: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/04/16/xi-jinpings-bold-plan-for-chinas-next-phase-ofinnovationGoogle Scholar
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2019. World population ageing 2019: Highlights. New York: United Nations. Available from URL: https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/ageing/WorldPopulationAgeing2019-Highlights.pdfGoogle Scholar
Vollset, S. E., Goren, E., Yuan, C. W., Cao, J., Smith, A. E., Hsiao, T., Bisignano, C., Azhar, G. S., Castro, E., Chalek, J., Dolgert, A. J., Frank, T., Fukutaki, K., Hay, S. I., Lozano, R., Mokdad, A. H., Nandakumar, V., Pierce, M., Pletcher, M., Robalik, T., Steuben, K. M., Wunrow, H. Y., Zlavog, B. S., & Murray, C. J. L. 2020. Fertility, mortality, migration, and population scenarios for 195 countries and territories from 2017 to 2100: A forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet, 396(10258): 12851306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
White House. 2022, April 5. The Biden-Harris Administration FY 2023 budget makes historic investments in science and technology. Available from URL: https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/04/05/the-biden-harris-administration-fy-2023-budget-makes-historic-investments-in-science-and-technology/Google Scholar
Wiggers, K. 2021, September 11. U.S. agencies are increasing their AI investments. AI Weekly. Available from URL: https://venturebeat.com/2021/09/11/ai-weekly-u-s-agencies-are-increasing-their-investments-in-ai/Google Scholar
Witt, M. A. 2019. De-globalization: Theories, predictions, and implications for international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 50(7): 10531077.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Population Review. 2022a. China population 2021. [Cited 1 February 2022]. Available from URL: https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/china-populationGoogle Scholar
World Population Review. 2022b. 2022 world population by country. [Cited 20 June 2022]. Available from URL: http://worldpopulationreview.com/Google Scholar
Zhai, F. 2018. China’s belt and road initiative: A preliminary quantitative assessment. Journal of Asian Economics, 55(C): 8492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, H., Patton, D., & Kenney, M. 2013. Building global-class universities: Assessing the impact of the 985 Project. Research Policy, 42(3): 765775.CrossRefGoogle Scholar