In China, foreign firms are more successful and dominant than domestic firms, according to Douglas Fuller, assistant professor in the School of International Service, at a forum Wednesday.
The forum emphasized the rise of globalization and its impact in Chinese industry, which is currently experiencing a technological upgrade comprising both technological learning and innovation through foreign firms.
Fuller, an expert on China, presented a forum in conjunction with the International Communication Forum and the Washington Asian Forum titled "China's Emerging Technological Trajectory: How Economic Globalization has Spurred China's Technological Development."
Upgrading is measured by relativity to "the international frontier," commercial products and through personnel and local suppliers, Fuller said. In addition, according to the research outcomes, domestic firms within the state are not as successful as the foreign firms of international networks. The most effective are the hybrid firms, which have done the most for China's global advancement, according to Fuller.
Fuller said one of the most successful manufacturing firms is the foreign firm Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation. Together with GRACE, another manufacturing company, they produce over 80 percent of China's advanced integrated circuits. With the great success in foreign firms, there is an increased push for foreign policy opposed to domestic policy.
"I don't think it's a choice between a foreign-oriented policy and a domestic-oriented policy," Fuller said. "It's more a successful foreign-oriented policy and a failed domestic-oriented policy. In the future, I hope China can rely more on domestic financial institutions because if China still relies on foreign finance, it means that China has never cleaned up the mess that is China's domestic financial system."
According to Fuller's research and observations, China is still approximately a year behind the technological frontier.
"China is still a poor country," Fuller said. "They're not inventing the wheel; they're learning to make the wheel."
Mervae Ozcus, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she sees a dichotomy between the amount of products China exports and Fuller's claims.
"I was really surprised when [Fuller] said that China is still behind the standard technology advancement because it seems like everything is made and bought from China all over the world," Ozcus said. "They benefit others, so it's funny to find that they aren't up to par with the rest of us when they're the ones who make the products for us"
