ABSTRACT
Since the turn of the century, China has attracted attention that goes beyond the fact that economic growth rates have remained remarkably high for about three decades already. As can be seen from the comparative assessment of innovation indicators in section 1.4, China is rapidly narrowing the gap between itself and the leading economies. Concomitantly, some Chinese enterprises have made an appearance on the world markets: Lenovo, which has turned into one of the major computer manufacturers after having acquired the PC division from IBM in 2004; Huawei Technologies, a telecom solutions provider which managed to become a main supplier for European operators like Vodafone; Build Your Dreams (BYD), a world leader in rechargeable batteries that entered the market with all-electric cars and hybrid models; and SiBiono GeneTech, the first company worldwide that brought a gene therapy drug to market. Given China’s swiftly increasing levels of inputs committed to strengthening the country’s innovative capacity, some observers already see the country turning into the next ‘technological superpower’ in the not too distant future (e.g. Sigurdson 2005; Wilsdon and Keeley 2007). This statement is, for now, usually voiced in connection with a set of conditional clauses, but the view is nonetheless quite noteworthy against the background of China still being a developing country in the midst of transition from a planned to a capitalist system.
