China's intensifying efforts since the late 1990s to rejuvenate its science and technology capabilities in order to gird its growing global economic and strategic status has attracted considerable scholarly and policy-oriented attention. Greater China's Quest for Innovation is one of a number of studies that have appeared in the past couple of years examining the question of whether and how China will become a world-class purveyor of innovation. Other noteworthy titles include the OECD's Review of China's Innovation Policy (OECD, 2008) and Denis Fred Simon and Cong Cao's China's Emerging Technological Edge (Cambridge University Press, 2009).
In examining China's science and technology (S&T) progress over the past decade or so, Greater China's Quest for Innovation as well as these other studies focus on themes recognized as critical in determining technological success and long-term sustainability. They include the role of research institutes, the cultivation of the talent pool, the research and development (R&D) contribution of multinational corporations, the quality of patents and journal citations, and the country's place in the regional and global innovation and production chain.
This book originated as conference proceedings, drawing together leading technology policy analysts from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US and Europe to address these topics from a diverse array of perspectives. This line-up is both a strength and weakness. While the quality and depth of the 21 chapters vary widely, the overall product does provide an analytically insightful if somewhat uneven survey of the state of the Chinese science and technology enterprise from the bottom up.
Some of the most interesting and original chapters address issues such as the role of entrepreneurial Chinese returnees in promoting technological innovation (Claudia Muller and Rolf Sternberg) and the emergence of cross-Strait R&D networks (Meng-chun Lin and Shin-horng Chen) that include the Hsinchu–Shanghai–Silicon Valley triangle (Kung Wang and Yi-Ling Wei). The analyses of survey work on multinational R&D activity in China (Lan Xue and Zheng Liang) and the performance of restructured Chinese research institutes (Gary Jefferson et al.) are another strength of the book, as is the statistical and comparative analyses of Chinese and US patent filings (Albert Hu, Poh Kam Wong) and Chinese journal citations (Ping Zhou and Loet Leydesdorff).
One major frustration of the book is that it offers little useful analysis of macro-level perspectives. Moreover, there is no effort by the editors to build upon or bring together the sectoral and micro-level studies to provide some broader conclusions. There are also numerous gaps that prevent this book from being recommended as a textbook primer for students on Chinese S&T. For example, there is no analysis of the structures and processes of the Chinese – or Taiwanese – S&T systems, little reference to how mainland Chinese firms are pursuing innovation activities, and little detailed discussion of the Chinese government's policies and key development plans for the promotion of S&T development.
In addition, the book only offers a snapshot of the state of the greater China S&T innovation system in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, but provides little historical context. Its lack of forward-looking or longer-term analysis is likely to limit its shelf life given the rapid pace of change taking place in S&T in the greater China region. These drawbacks can be mitigated if this book is read in conjunction with the OECD China innovation study, which is far more comprehensive in its coverage.
