China's Path to Innovation

'That China is the workshop of the world is now a 'given'. Professor Fu has invested years in the search for clues to how the goods in the China workshop have moved from being 'assembled in China' through 'invented in China' to 'invented and commercialised in a complex open engagement with the world's capital and skilled labour'. This book is the authoritative result and is essential reading.' Barbara Harriss-White, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford, and co-editor of China–India: Pathways of Economic and Social Development

'This fascinating book by a leading Chinese scholar is hugely informative of the challenges China faces in its quest to become a major global innovative economy. It populates a knowledge gap, challenges our conventional wisdom and provides important insights for corporate and government policy makers alike.' Raphael Kaplinsky, The Open University

'China achieved an average annual growth rate of 9.8% for 35 years, made possible only by continuous technological innovations, after the transition from a planning economy to a market economy in 1979. Such a long period of extraordinary growth was unprecedented in human history. This book carefully studies China's open national innovation system at national, regional and firm levels. It deciphers how China was able to achieve such a remarkable success in the past, examines how China may sustain dynamic growth in the future and suggests what other countries can learn from China's success. The book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand Chinese economic development.' Justin Yifu Lin, Peking University and former Chief Economist, The World Bank

'Finally, we have an analytical volume that combines economic theory, international experience and China's socio-economic conditions to formulate a most credible strategy to greatly strengthen China's capacity to innovate. Xiaolan Fu's 'Open National Innovation System' approach deserves careful study by other developing countries because it is also applicable to them.' Wing Woo, University of California, Davis and President, Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia

'A masterpiece on comparative Chinese innovation studies.' Calestous Juma, Harvard University

'… to date there are few research monographs that go beyond picking out striking cases of innovative companies [in China]. We clearly also need systematic analyses of China's growing innovative capacity. For this reason, Xiaolan Fu's … China's Path to Innovation is a welcome addition to the literature … I recommend that any scholar interested in China's innovation capacity read [this book].' Johann Peter Murmann, economic-evolution.net