China as an Innovation Nation

There have been many books about innovation in China recently. This book clearly stands out for its penetrating analysis of the evolutionary process of how industries in China, traditional and high-tech, are climbing the ladder of innovation. It has also demystified some of the controversies around the concept of indigenous innovation. The book not only sheds light on how China has become the world factory over the last 30 years, but also provides clues on where Chinese innovation is going in the next decade. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what is going on in China and how China is going to influence the world. * Lan Xue, Tsinghua University *
It is a long debated issue whether the government should play an active role in a country's pursuit for higher levels of technological sophistication. This book takes a positive stand over this issue by providing industrial level studies about China's quest for an innovation nation. Attending to details, those studies offer fresh information about how the Chinese government has succeeded or failed to promote innovation in specific industries. This book is definitely worth reading for anyone who is not satisfied by popular but abstract debates about the role of the government. * Yao Yang, Peking University *
In this important volume, Zhou, Lazonick and Sun have tried to remedy this situation by providing a broad comparative overview of the challenges of innovation faced by late modernizers and by inviting a group of specialists to address issues of innovative performance in key industrial sectors. The volume, thus, makes an important contribution to our understanding of technological innovation in China, and should find a place on the must-read lists of scholars, policymakers, and members of the business community.Denis * Richard P. Suttmeier, University of Oregon *
The issue of China's innovation prowess continues to occupy the attention of policymakers and business leaders as well as leading scholars across the world. China as an Innovation Nation is one of the first comprehensive books on the PRC innovation effort that actually uses a series of explicit case studies to highlight and analyze the core strengths and shortcomings of Chinese innovative capabilities. The combination of these insightful, well documented case studies taken together, especially those related to high speed rail, integrated circuits, and telecommunications, allows us to better grasp not simply if, but more importantly ,when and how China will impact the future trajectory of the prevailing global innovation system. This is a must read for serious observers of the Chinese technology system * Denis Simon, Duke Kunshan University *